IslamicFinance.de

Dear Reader,

Islamic finance had another great year. Many of its market segments progressed, like for example the Sukuk market gaining more maturity. Despite the ongoing debt crisis a good sign of hope and happiness.

Nevertheless we are - as an industry - still not satisfied with the achievements. Islamic finance shall grow stronger in terms of social impact and in terms of substance:

Hence, please allow me to re-iterate my call for participating in international initiatives beyond just our own industry to learn and spread knowledge and experience:

Calling Islamic financial institutions to become member of the United Nations Finance Initiative
http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/811

Inshallah we see more Islamic financial institutions taking a lead in SRI, Social Impact Investing and other approaches while contributing with Islamic finance knowdledge to the conventional industry. The time is now; and there are signs that Malaysia aims for a lead:
http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/4151

Al Medina Financial and Korean Finance corporation are going to form a Sharia-compliant small and medium enterprise fund worth $50 million. The fund that should be operational in the first quater of next year will provide seed capital for SME companies in Oman, which use Korean technology.

National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL) is going to launch a new Sharia-compliant Unit Trust called "NAMAL Sharia Fund". It will offer clients an opportunity to invest in a large diversified portfolio of Sharia-compliant equities listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Dar Al Sharia Legal and Financial Consultancy LLC (DAS) will assist the fund with consulting services.

The first superannuation fund that follows Islamic principles has been recently launched in Australia. The issuer of the fund (called "Personal Choice") is the wealth management company Crescent Wealth in cooperation with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professional's.

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) has made its collection of best practices for setting-up and servicing Islamic funds public. Thus, a higher level of understanding and consistency of the requirements and expectations to this developing market sector can be ensured. This year several new Shariah-compliant funds were launched, making 2012 a busy year for the Luxembourg Islamic finance community. Luxembourg currently has 41 funds with EUR4bn in assets under management reaching the fifth place worldwide and the first in Europe in terms of number of Shariah-compliant domiciled funds.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector gave start to a fund aiming to finance renewable- energy projects in Central Asia and plans another in Africa. The fund is worth $35 million and is situated in Kazakhstan. In the very near future the North Africa fund containing $35 million to $50 million is to be opened. Financing for renewables ventures is targeting emerging markets due to the governments' striving to curb reliance on fuel imports and cash-strapped nations in Europe cut subsidies for clean power.

Pakistani ABL Asset Management has announced the establishment of an Islamic equity fund. The fund is expected to tap the growing market of investors who want to make their investments in stocks of Shariah-compliant companies only. In contrast with the current offer of the company - the Islamic Income Fund - the new Islamic equity fund will entail higher levels of risk and return. The date of release is not known yet but according to the company's CEO Farid Ahmed Khan, it will be rather soon.

Saudi Arabian financial services company Sidra Capital (Sidra) and Swiss alternative investment house INOKS Capital SA (INOKS) made an announcement about investments in various transactions by its jointly managed Sidra Ancile Global Structured Trade Finance Fund (STFIF). The joint facility totals $13.5 million. STFIF is regulated both by Saudi Arabia Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) of Luxembourg. The fund has given approval to a number of investments in various transactions since the closure of its first offering of subscription in September 2012.

Saudi Arabian NCB Capital is about to launch a range of Irish-domiciled Islamic mutual funds. This way the company is broadening its investor base and tries to appeal to emerging market investors. The company manages US$12.1bn worth of assets. It has launched two funds investing in Saudi Arabian and GCC equities. NCB's plans include the launch of other funds including one that will invest in sukuk.

This month, the first international mutual funds, which will be run by a Saudi Arabian manager, will be launched from Dublin. Equity funds investing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region will be launched by NCB Capital. The operations will be compliant to the principles of Islamic Sharia law. This move is considered to be a continuation of the bank's strategy to become a significant player in the sharia market.

CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd intends to grow its funds under the government-mooted private retirement scheme (PRS). The target amount is RM2 billion which should be reached during a period of five years. This way, CIMB is working on its higher goal to become the country's top PRS provider. It is expected that pension funds will become a key part of the company's business, accounting for 20% of its revenue in five years. At the moment, CIMB is managing RM36 billion worth of assets.

According to a report by Trade Arabia, Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri has signed a 1-year facility worth USD 200 million with a group of nine banks from the Gulf region. The sole bookrunner and structuring advisor to Tüpra? was QInvest. Lead arrangers of the deal were Ahli United Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Doha Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank. The rest of the banks involved in the facility are Qatar Islamic Bank, Barwa Bank, The Commercial Bank of Qatar and First Gulf Bank.

A new milestone was reached by the Islamic finance industry of Sri Lanka. The first Shariahbased income fund for the country was recently launched. It has the structure of a unit trust. It will be followed by another unit trust - Adl Mudarabah Fund - which will be launched under the combined expertise of Adl Capital Limited and Comtrust Asset Management (Pvt.) Limited. The Trustee of the fund will be Deutsche Bank. Its role is to monitor all investments.

Total assets under management reached USD 59.5 billion at the end of the third quarter of this year. A huge part of the assets - more than a half - are invested in money market and Saudi trade finance funds. Further 25% is invested in equities. The remaining assets are allocated among fixed income securities, IPOs, protected or guaranteed funds, and many other types. The distribution of the assets in terms of number of funds however shows different figures. 40% in equities, 19% in fixed income and sukuk, and 14% in money market and Saudi trade finance are the percentages according to this aspect of distribution.

Dear Reader,

The German language book on Islamic finance by the Editor of IslamicFinance.de and Dr Wackerbeck from Booz Consultants is now translated to Chinese.

Please find the biographical information below:

Authors: Michael Gassner / Philipp Wackerbeck
Title: Islamic Finance – Islam-gerechte Finanzanlagen und
Finanzierungen
ISBN number: 978-7-5139-0217-5
PUBLISHER: Beijing - Democracy and Construction Press
Pre-Publication Date: 2012.7

Full biographical details: http://db.lib.bua.edu.cn/asord/asorditem.php?asord_marc_no=0001344540

Orders: http://www.amazon.cn/%E4%BC%8A%E6%96%AF%E5%85%B0%E9%87%91%E8%9E%8D-%E7%B...

Book review about the German language original: http://www.rpi-virtuell.net/workspace/24686AD5-936C-476D-9EA0-65E2968590...

Best regards,

Michael Gassner

IslamicFinance.de offers an overview about new job openings of October 2012 herewith - firms aiming to be included please send a job profile/hyperlink to newsdesk@islamicfinance.de - the full details of the advert has to be accessed by the hyperlink below the brief description:

Product Manager, Islamic Banking

Standard Chartered Bank - United Arab Emirates-SCB (United Arab Emirates)
Job Description
?Development of Islamic wealth products across CBMS, insurance and investment streams to create customer value proposition.
?Ensure successful implementation of the Islamic banking strategy across high value segment.
?Concentrated responsibility to work with the Priority/Wealth/Private/SME product/frontline teams and support functions to build on the current Islamic banking capabilities and to create seamless customer experience
?Act as a product specialist for RMs on client meetings to introduce and explain the Saadiq solutions to meet their needs
?Financial budgeting and business forecast. Evaluation of financial performance.

Barwa Bank announced it has launched its first collective investment scheme 'The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund', which is managed by The First Investor, a subsidiary of the 100% Shariah compliant Barwa bank. The main objective of the fund will be to achieve long-term capital growth through investing in a broadly diversified portfolio of equities and equity-related securities listed on GCC markets.

See more under: http://www.international-adviser.com/news/middle-east/barwa-bank-launche...

Bank of London and Middle East - BLME - is going to acquire a multi-let site property with six tentants for its Light Industrial Building Fund. This investment will bring the gross asset value of the fund over £20 million and an annualised yield of over eight per cent from the new acquisition which should help to achieve or even exceed target return of the fund, according to BLME Director Asset Management.

See more under: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/15967/blme-acquires-property-for-i...

The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund is name of a new 100% Shariah compliant investment scheme, launched by the Barwa Bank. The bank's first Shariah compliant fund will be managed by the investment subsidiary of the bank. The fund's investment goal is to achieve long-term capital growth based on investments in a diversified portfolio of equities that are listed on exchanges of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries. According to the head of Asset Management it is possible to achieve more than 12% growth a year, as their selections have consistently outperformed the market.

The Waqf Fund, which purpose is to support Islamic finance training, education and research, has expanded its scope of activity and started supporting the industry in various ways during the last year. According to a statement by Khalid Hamad, fund chairman and Central Bank of Bahrain executive director of banking supervision, the fund is supporting Bahrain University in their Bachelor of Arts in Sharia for banking and finance as well as Shaikh Isa Library.

More on: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=338524