News

Farz Foundation, WCMP to work together on Islamic microfinance

The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP) and Pakistan’s Islamic microfinance institution Farz Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The foundation and the WCMP will cooperate in developing Shari’ah-compliant product...

Allianz Seeks to Expand Takaful Effort From Its Indonesia Base

Allianz SE is searching to further develop its takaful, or Islam-compliant insurance, in the Asia-Pacific region, using its experience in Indonesia where it sees substantial market demand for comprehensive and affordable plans.
Kamesh Goy...

IBS to work with Harvard to present education program for banking executives

Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz Al-Sabah, governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, chairman of the board of directors of the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies (IBS), noted that the Kuwait IBS will work with Harvard Business School for the third year...

CIC sees business sense in Takaful

Takaful Insurance for Africa’s largest shareholder, Cooperative Insurance Company (CIC) is admiring its decision to invest in Kenya’s first Takaful company.
CIC’s GM, Kenneth Kimani, noted TIA’s strong progress and the fact that Takaful i...

Medgulf in BancaTakaful agreement with BMI

Bahrain’s BMI Bank has signed a strategic agreement with regional insurer Medgulf Allianz Takaful.
This agreement will allow the bank to present customers a suite of life and non-life Takaful products through its branch network.

New Working Capital Facility

Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn. Bhd. ("RAGM") has started an agreement with Alkhair International Islamic Bank Berhad ("AIIB") for an Islamic working capital facility, known as a Murabaha Facility, (the "Facility"...

Bank Sarasin-Alpen recognised as the "Best Wealth Manager"at the Islamic Business and Finance Awards 2011

Bank Sarasin-Alpen won the Best Islamic Wealth Manager award at the Islamic Business and Finance Awards 2011 that took place at the Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai on 13th December, 2011 and was managed by CPI Financial. The award was handed to R...

BankMuscat announces Meethaq Islamic banking window

BankMuscat's Board of Directors decided to arrange an independent Islamic banking window at the bank and launch Islamic banking operations in accordance with the injunctions of Shariah, subject to approval from the Central Bank of Oman.
...

Islamic banking

Islamic Banking Department was set up in Pakistan on 15th September, 2003 and has been authorized with the task of promoting & developing the Shariah Compliant Islamic Banking as a parallel and compatible banking system in the country. Isl...

Mahathir urges countries to achieve 50% market share for Islamic banking

It seems that, even after his retirement, Mahathir Mohamed, the former Malaysian prime minister, is still giving advice whether on the global financial crisis, on the future of the Islamic banking industry, on the Islamic gold dinar, on the fu...

South Africa initiates debut sovereign sukuk issuance process

The deadline for financial institutions to submit proposals for advising the South African government on the structuring and issuance of its debut sovereign Sukuk will expire on Dec. 21.
Shortlisted candidates will be informed by Jan. 20...

PLUS sukuk may lure insurers

PLUS Bhd’s record RM23.4 billion (US$7.3 billion) sukuk sale is attracting life insurers with higher-than-average yields and maturities of as much as 25 years.
The Malaysian company is taking over the nation’s biggest toll-road operator...

Islamic Development Bank hosts IIFM’s 25th Board of Directors Meeting

The 25th Board of Directors meeting of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) took place on December 11 at Islamic Development Bank (IDB) offices in Jeddah. Present at the meeting were senior representatives from IDB, Central Bank o...

Social Reporting Practices of Islamic Banks in Saudi-Arabia

Abstract Islamic banks are said to possess ethical identity (Haniffa and Hudaib, 2007) because their social goals are just as important if not more important than financial goals because of the fact that they are based on religious foundations,...

Indonesia to issue more bonds in the H1 2012

Indonesia's finance ministry want to speed up the rate at which it launches bonds in 2012 because of concern over a global economic downturn and will issue 55-60% of its target in the first half of the year.
According to Arga Samudro, a J...

Islamic finance continues to evolve in East Africa

The latest development in Tanzania and East Africa’s emerging Islamic finance industry is the opening of Tanzania’s first Islamic bank, Amana Bank, last month. The headquarters of the bank are in the Kariakoo trade centre in the city, the hub...

ISLAMIC INDEX INVESTING: THE INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE

Abstract academic paper:

Using a large international sample of 35 developed and emerging markets, we analyze
whether Islamic indices exhibit a different performance to conventional benchmarks. While there is no compelling evidence o...

Foreign sukuk issuance in Malaysia likely to rise by 30%

Foreign issuance of sukuk in Malaysia is anticipated to increase by 25%-30% next year from 10%-15% currently owing to the global economic calamities and eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
Amanie Advisors Sdn Bhd director Baiza Bain noted th...

New move to spur GCC debt capital markets

The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) has revealed a detailed compendium of the nascent markets for local currency government-issued instruments. This is the first collection of its kind in the Gulf region.
The summary was put toget...

Saudi Arabia to Issue Innovative Riyal Sukuk By Early 2012

It seems that Saudi Arabia is discussing with banks the issuing of a riyal-denominated Islamic bond. High-level talks are currently ongoing between the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) and a number of local and international banks with ope...

Al Baraka Bank’s Syrian unit plans expansion despite ongoing unrest

Despite an eight-month revolt that has delayed Syria in violence and economic uncertainty, the recently opened Syrian unit of Al Baraka Bank aims to continue developing.
While new, small private banks seem to have largely escaped the wor...

Gold Fingers

A man named Omar Kalair was told to rendezvous in the dead of the night in a deserted suburban parking lot and hand over a consignment of gold and silver bullion to achieve recognition on the debts of a secretive organization.
The bizarr...

Silkbank awarded IF license

The State Bank of Pakistan has awarded Silkbank with an Islamic banking license.
The bank will be initially aiming Pakistan’s main population centers, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad.

Africa looks to Islamic finance

Africa has begun to move its economic attention away from the west to the Middle East and Asia as a primary source of capital raising. This shift in alignment partially explains the forthcoming launch of a number of Sukuk across the continent...

Oman Arab under starter’s orders

Oman Arab Bank is now ready to launch Islamic banking products through dedicated windows, after the regulatory framework is announced by the Central Bank of Oman in January.
Bishara Qafiti, deputy manager of Oman Arab Bank, stated that in...

Saudi Sukuk analysis

Saudi Arabia has the largest population, GDP and oil reserves in the GCC region and is strategically and militarily important on both a regional and global scale. Despite all this, unlike its neighbors the UAE or Bahrain, Saudi Arabia is not a...

Saudi in sukuk talks

Saudi Arabia is discussing with banks the possibility to launch a riyal-denominated Islamic bond, or sukuk as the kingdom abandons its aversion to sovereign-level debt to help build a local currency yield curve.
Talks are ongoing between...

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank pays off $800m Sukuk

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) stated that it had fully paid an $800 million, five-year Islamic bond which matured on December 12, 2011.
The bank had launched the maturing Sukuk in 2006 as part of a $5 billion trust certificate programme.

PIA attracts UAE lenders to $90m Islamic finance

Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PIA) raised $90 million (Dh330 million) through an Islamic syndicated fin-ancing facility.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Citibank, and United Bank Limited organized the facility being the ma...

ICD starts sponsoring and investing in Islamic finance specialists in private sector

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for a capacity building initiative of the private sector in the field of Islamic finance was signed between the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the International Centre fo...

Malaysia to continue global sukuk market domination

Malaysia is awaited to continue its strong 60% contribution to global sukuk issuance next year, supported by projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
HSBC Amanah stated that this year a significant growth in sukuk was...

Sukuk market is the fastest growing segment of international finance

The sukuk market is one of the fastest growing segments in the global financial market. Muhammad Al-Bashir Muhammad al-Amine shows this in the introduction of his book titled “Global Sukuk and Islamic Securitisation Market - Financial Engineer...

SEB to issue more sukuk to meet additional RM1.5bil to fund power plant projects

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) intends to borrow an additional RM1.5bil in January 2012 in the form of Islamic debt (sukuk) under its RM15bil Sukuk Musyarakah Programme. This is in addition to its launch of RM3bil of sukuk in June this year which wa...

Yemen’s Islamic banks welcome GCC-brokered deal

Bankers embraced the GCC backed peace deal after nine months of sometimes viciously violent fighting in Yemen’s own take on the ‘Arab Spring’, a new government of reconciliation being sworn in to replace President Saleh’s regime in Yemen.