Indonesia’s plan to shift 11 trillion rupiah ($1.1 billion) of pilgrim’s savings into Shariah- compliant lenders is a booster-shot that will help narrow the gap with neighboring Malaysia. Deposits set aside by those planning a Hajj visit to Mecca in Saudi Arabia will be shifted by the Ministry of Religious Affairs from non-Islamic banks within a year of announcing the policy, Anggito Abimanyu, director-general of Hajj and Umrah at the ministry, said.
The funds are equivalent to 7.3 percent of the 150.8 trillion rupiah in savings at Islamic lenders, less than a sixth of Malaysia’s 310 billion ringgit ($102 billion), central bank data show………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman and Malaysia should embark on joint initiatives to develop a pool of professionals to drive the innovation and growth of the Islamic finance industry, said Raja Nazrin Shah, crown prince of Perak, Malaysia, and financial ambassador of the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre.
Shah observed, “There is great potential for the Sultanate of Oman and Malaysia to harness their collective resources and forge a mutually beneficial relationship in these areas. Such collaborative arrangements are critical for spurring further development and innovation and for addressing global issues and challenges facing the Islamic finance industry. A potential area for collaboration is the development of human capital.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The passing of a new law that would legalize Islamic bonds by Egypt’s upper house a day ago could trigger an investment windfall for the highly indebted country, the chairman of Egypt’s stock exchange said. Mohammed Omran said the underdeveloped bond market at the Nile would get a boost by the new law which increases certainty for foreign investors.
“The share of financing based on capital markets increased to 25 percent last year from 10 percent in 2005, but 75 percent of financing is still provided from loans granted by banks,” said Omran………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has dealt with much of its balance sheet weakness and should see profits for 2013 grow in the high double digits, allowing it to eye acquisitions in new markets in Asia, officials said.
Leaders at the world’s oldest sharia-compliant lender told Reuters it had put aside around AED 5 billion ($ 1.36 billion) against the sort of soured property loans and transactions which drew into question Dubai’s future as a financial hub in 2009. In his first media interview since taking over to deal with the fallout of the 2008 global crisis, Chief Executive Abdulla Al-Hamli said the bank was now anxious to expand but was being held back in part by the unrest dominating the Middle East………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bank of Kenya has launched a new Islamic banking window with plans to launch a fully-fledged subsidiary in future. The window, called ‘National Amanah’ is targeted at retail, SME and corporate clients offering banking products and services in compliance with Islamic Shariah.
NBK Managing Director Munir Ahmed said the launch of ‘National Amanah’ was in line with the bank’s continued focus on re-aligning its business in an increasingly competitive environment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Banking Division of United Arab Bank (UAB), the fastest growing bank in the UAE, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Minhaj Advisory - one of the most prominent Shari’ah compliant consultancy in the region.
The services extended by Minhaj Advisory will include introduction of Shari’ah compliant products, contracts, supervision, auditing and training. Minhaj will form a Shari’ah Supervisory Board (SSB) with three reputable Islamic scholars at the helm to extend their guidance regarding provisions and principles of Shari’ah related to transactions and activities of the current and future Islamic products and services provided by UAB’s Islamic banking division………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Reuters quotes new Islamic Finance Chief Executive Officer Amman Muhammad as saying, “In the new structure, we no longer call them a board, we’re using the term ‘sharia advisory committee’ and we now clearly define what the role of the committee is.”
He also revealed the bank’s plans to rebrand Islamic Finance, “We’re proposing to go to the market at the start of our new financial year with the name FNB Islamic Banking. It’s important for us to build our credibility in South Africa, (while) FNB acts as a conduit between us and other African countries,” he told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic division of First National Bank (FNB) has hired a new sharia advisory committee and aims to rebrand itself after a governance crisis last year resulted in the previous board quitting, denting investor confidence.
Under the new structure, the committee will no longer play a role in the day-to-day running of the business, removing the potential for conflicts like those that led to a public spat with management last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Executive Training Programme for Islamic Banking concluded at Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) recently. The training programme, which aims at developing Islamic finance skills towards better understanding of its principles and products, is specially designed for Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) finance employees.
The training introduced a comprehensive fundamental perspective about Islamic securitisation, gave tips on how to manage Islamic investment funds and studied their potentials………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With the Sukuk bill unanimously endorsed by the Shura Council, the Finance Ministry hopes this would give investments a shot in the arm.
The Sharia-compliant bonds will help achieving a quantum leap in investments, thus contributing to increasing growth and employment rates, said Advisor to the Finance Ministry in charge of the Sukuk file Ahmed el-Naggar. He noted that projects can very well be established using Sukuk………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign Islamic bonds, or sukuk, could attract $15 billion in investments to Egypt annually from domestic and foreign investors, according to statements made by an advisor to the finance minister to the state-run MENA news agency.
Ahmed El-Naggar, who manages affairs related to Islamic bonds at the finance ministry, expects the government issue of Sharia compliant debt instruments to spur Egypt’s economic growth and employment figures………………………………………..Full Article: Source

PT Garuda Indonesia’s debut $630-million Islamic loan, which follows sukuk by Emirates Airlines and Malaysian Airline System Bhd., is a test that may pave the way for more Shariah funding, the carrier’s chief executive said.
The state-owned company announced an agreement last week with Kuwait’s Aviation Lease and Finance Company KSCC, which will finance two Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft, CEO Emirsyah Satar said in an April 26 interview from Jakarta. Pricing for the 12-year facility was “competitive” and it will help Garuda gain access to a wider pool of investors, he said, adding that it may consider issuing sukuk in the future………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has assigned Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S.’s (Turkiye Finans) Sukuk issue a final rating of ‘BBB’. KEY RATING DRIVERS The ‘BBB’ rating assigned to the Sukuk is driven solely by Turkiye Finans’ Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘BBB’ as the Sukuk structure is viewed as an originator-backed/asset-based structure.
According to Fitch’s criteria, the Sukuk rating is directly linked to Turkiye Finans’ Long-term IDR. By assigning a rating to the issue, Fitch does not express an opinion on the Sukuk structure’s compliance with Shariah principles or whether the relevant transaction documents are enforceable under any applicable law, including, without limitation, English and Turkish law………………………………………..Full Article: Source

H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank ( QCB ), yesterday said that Islamic banks in Qatar issued sukuk worth QR8bn by the end of the first quarter of 2013. The QCB , on behalf of the government, has issued sukuk worth QR39bn to help manage the liquidity of Islamic financial institutions to comply with Basel III norms.
The sukuk issuances are likely to grow by 20 percent annually driven by high demand for Shariah- compliant products and finances globally. Sheikh Abdullah, in his opening address at the International Conference on Sukuk, said the total volume of investments of banks operating in Qatar in Islamic sukuk or bonds reached QR47bn for the same period……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing calls before a weekend election to justify a $3 billion bond placement by the sovereign-wealth fund he leads, with opponents saying the deal was unnecessary and mispriced.
Goldman (GS) Sachs Group Inc. arranged the March 19 sale of 10- year debt by 1Malaysia Development Bhd., also known as 1MDB, and the notes were priced to yield 4.4 percent, 141 basis points more than sovereign Islamic dollar bonds due July 2021 were yielding at that time………………………………………..Full Article: Source

MAAKL Mutual declared a 3.2 sen and 2.1 sen gross distribution for its MAAKL Dividend Fund and MAAKL-HW Shariah Progress Fund, for the financial year ended April 30, 2013.
The dividend represents a 8.55 per cent and 6.98 per cent gross distribution yield, respectively, based on an average net asset value per unit from May 1, 2012 to April 22, 2013, MAAKL said in a statement Thursday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Rating Services Limited has revised the outlook to stable from positive and affirmed the financial strength rating of C++ (Marginal) and the issuer credit rating of “b” of Boubyan Takaful Insurance Company KSC (CLOSED) (Boubyan) (Kuwait). Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in A.M. Best’s interactive rating process.
The revised outlook reflects Boubyan’s decision not to ring-fence assets in favour of policyholders. As per A.M. Best’s Takaful (Shari’a Compliant) Insurance Companies criteria, the risk-adjusted capitalisation of Boubyan’s policyholders’ fund remains weak………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RHB Research has estimated Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd’s earnings for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, to be higher at about RM30 million from RM26.3 million recorded in the same quarter last year.
The research house said Takaful Malaysia’s bancatakaful and agents would continue being the main drivers of the growth, on the back of its rejuvenated “We Should Talk” campaign as well as its enhanced sales force. “Takaful Malaysia is expected to release its first quarter results as early as May 17………………………………………..Full Article: Source