IslamicFinance.de

The possibility of the first sovereign or corporate sukuk origination out of France took a step nearer when the French government announced that it had passed new instructions to facilitate the introduction of sukuk, Ijara, Murabaha and Istisna products in France.

It is claimed that France now has a tax neutrality regime in place for facilitating Islamic financial products including Islamic bonds and certificates; cost-plus-financing; leasing and construction industry forward financing.

French banks such as Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, UBAF, Calyon (Banque Credit Agricole) have long been involved in global Islamic finance. BNP Paribas for instance recently listed its first Islamic exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Asia on Bursa Malaysia. Some two years ago it had advised the Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, to launch its first Islamic ETF, MyETF i. The new measures are not limited to a particular transaction but form a basis for a framework for Murabaha, Istisna, Ijara and sukuk transactions which satisfy both French law and Shariah principles.

In 2010 Qatar Islamic Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Banque Populaire Caisse d'Epargne, France's second largest banking group, in order to gain access to the French retail banking and small medium-size business markets. Recently, Paris Europlace signed an agreement with AAOIFI paving the way for greater cooperation to drive the development of Islamic finance in France.

Title: Second Workshop on Islamic Finance "What Islamic Finance does (not) change"
Begin: 17.03.2010
End: 17.03.2010

Organisations:
European Research Group (Groupement de Recherche Européen (GDRE)) “Money, Banking & Finance” (Monnaie Banque Finance) and its working group Financial and Monetary European Integration (Intégration Monétaire et Financière Européenne); EM Strasbourg Business School; LARGE Research Center; Institut de Finance de Strasbourg

Contact: Laurent Weill (laurent.weill@unistra.fr)
Website: http://www.univ-orleans.fr/deg/GDRecomofi/Pres/CallMarch2010final.doc
Call for Papers: 18.12.2009

Abstract: With the forthcoming venue of Islamic banks in France and the worldwide growth of Islamic finance, the impact of Islamic banking presence and more generally of Islamic finance activities becomes of utmost interest. This academic workshop aims investigating these changes and more globally enhancing the scientific knowledge on Islamic finance.

After established the first diploma in Islamic Finance in continental Europe in January 2009, EM Strasbourg Business School will welcome this workshop.

The laicist French government seeks to make amendments to laws improving Islamic finance investors access to France. Although a relevant draft law was turned down by the Constitutional Council in form, but not in content, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment Christine Lagrade made it certain that the government would work further. The French minister's advisor Thierry Dissaux told KUNA that the government would introduce amendments to French legal and tax systems in order to match Islamic financial principles.

According to recent studies, Islamic financial investments in France are estimated at roughly USD 120 billion.

Talal al-Kandari reported on Kuna.

If Islamic finance has been more resilient to the crisis than its conventional counterpart, it is because it is less risky, have found many industry players. However, this statement does not reflect the inherent risks of Islamic banks themselves. [...]

For this conference co-organized by the University Paris-Dauphine and Arrow Financial Consulting, six roundtables will address the specifics of risk management in Islamic banks (credit risk, market risk, operational risk, legal risk, risk liquidity risks in order of religious interpretation.

Paris Thursday, January 28, 2010

University Paris-Dauphine

Raymond Aron Hall 2 nd Floor

Place du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny 75775 PARIS Cedex 16

http://ifinanceexpert.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/france-first-islamic-fina...

A focus on Islamic finance could also attract sovereign and other funds from oil-rich Gulf states and help provide the investment that France needs.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Paris EUROPLACE signed a Memorandum of Understanding defining the range of cooperation.

Mrs Christine LAGARDE, Minister of economy, industry and employment sees the MoU to improve the relations between the countries, and to increase the attractivity of the financial market place of Paris on the long term including the Islamic finance players.

Gilles Saint-Marc, a Paris based lawyer is cited that the first Islamic bank in France may start already in June 2009.

Quantis was founded recently to provide expertise in responsible Islamic finance combined with quantitative methods by Marwan Muhammad and others.

http://www.quantislam.com

Al Baraka Banking Group said it planned to enter the French market to tap into Western Europe's largest Muslim community reported Will Waterman in Arabianbusiness. Further Al Baraka's units in North Africa are planning tie-ups with French partners to "establish Islamic banking in France", it said in a statement on the Nasdaq Dubai, where it is also listed. However no legal agreements have been finalised