IslamicFinance.de

Malaysia’s competitive advantage in Islamic finance will strengthen as the country evolves into an international hub for Islamic finance.

Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn), the Bahrain-based financial services group, announces that its successful close of a US$450 million 5-year Sukuk on behalf of leading Saudi real estate developer Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company (Dar Al-Arkan) has been named Islamic Finance Deal of the Year for the Middle East by pre-eminent international business magazine The Banker.

Islamic banking must speed up standardization in order to grow while monetary authorities should enact laws that allow expansion into new Sharia-based products in domestic markets, industry experts said on Wednesday.

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. GRBS jointly with Dar Al Istithmar, a UK-based Shari’a advisory firm and the global leader on Islamic Finance System, is to conduct "Global Islamic Finance System" Master Class in Azerbaijan for the first time.

First Finance Company has disclosed its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 which is net profit of QR 29.2m in 2009 versus QR 110.8m in 2008.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share expertise and exchange relevant information in the areas of banking supervision, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Microfinance and Islamic Finance, Monetary Policy and Development Finance Institutions. The MoU was signed at the headquarters of the Malaysian Central Bank, the Bank Negara in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia’s competitive advantage in Islamic finance will strengthen as the country evolves into an international hub for Islamic finance.

Press Release

The report provides investors with an in-depth overview of the various asset classes in Islamic wealth management along with a synopsis of the market scenario during the past 18 months. The report also explores the concept of estate and succession planning, which Sarasin believes is insufficiently addressed in the Islamic finance industry and is a key element of Sarasin’s Islamic wealth management offering. Finally, the report provides an insight into the bank’s economic outlook for 2010.

The key issues and challenges addressed in the report are:

• how Sharia screening reduced the downside in volatile markets and how it affects the finance industry and investors,
• the behaviour of direct real estate investments in comparison with real estate funds and Sharia-compliant real estate investment trusts,
• the income-related role of Sukuk within Islamic balanced portfolios and the probability of defaults,
• a comparison between various Islamic investment funds ranging from income-oriented to commodity, real estate and equity funds,
• the size and future of the Islamic private equity and venture capital industry,
  

Press Release

Today sees the launch of a new Journal on Islamic finance from dedicated Islamic finance media entity Yasaar Media.

The Journal, called So Far – the Journal of Strategic Thinking in Islamic Finance, is written and edited by members of an Islamic finance Think Tank and is modelled on traditional academic journals. The difference with So Far is that the members of the Think Tank are predominantly practitioners rather than academics.
Member of the Think Tank are drawn from the ranks of committed Islamic finance professionals around the world and range from the Gulf and the Far East to the USA and Europe.

Each issue of So Far is dedicated to a single topic of core importance to the Islamic finance industry – and the launch issue looks at the thorny issue of the problems facing the Sukuk market. Unlike many other journals So Far is distributed free in PDF format and is available from a variety of sources including Yasaar Media thus guaranteeing maximum readership and exposure.

On March 1, 2010 after many months of work, ISDA (the International Swaps and Derivatives Association) and IIFM (International Islamic Financial Market) jointly issued the first Shari'ah-compliant master agreement for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.[1] Styled the "ISDA / IIFM Ta'Hawwut Master Agreement" (ta'hawwut signifies "hedging" in Arabic), the new template master agreement (the "Ta'Hawwut Agreement") provides a framework for the expansion of derivatives activity in the Middle East, South Asia and many regions throughout the world where hedging is not currently standard practice due to ethical concerns. While based on the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement (the "2002 Master Agreement") and with many terms familiar to participants in swap markets, the Ta'Hawwut Agreement has been developed under the guidance and approval of the IIFM Shari'ah Advisory Panel. The Ta'Hawwut Agreement is therefore expected to be used as a reference for market participants where they or their customers need to hedge risks in line with Shari'ah principles.

Saudi Arabia's regulator has fined the country's biggest Islamic bank, Al-Rajhi , for not notifying it about the resignation of two senior executives, the regulator said.

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Blom Developments Bank SAL (“Blom”) placed US$10 million with The Investment Dar Company KSCC (“TID”)under a wakala agreement (the “Agreement.

The Agreement was governed by English law and provided that TID would invest the Capital Sum (as the agent of Blom) in a shari’ah compliant manner. The Agreement further provided that at the end of the investment period TID had an obligation to pay to Blom the Capital Sum together with the anticipated agreed profit (the “Profit”).

TID failed to fulfill its obligations under the Agreement to pay to Blom the Capital Sum and the Profit at the end of the investment period. As a result Blom brought a summary judgment application in the English High Court. The Court ordered TID to pay to Blom the Capital Sum (but not the Profit).

Al Rajhi Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank, and Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), an international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today the launch of a $500m (SR1.875bn) fund, the ARC Real Estate Income Fund.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's (ADIB) rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook.

The global economy is facing a deep downturn as a result of the crisis. It was due to excessive
ability to create money and credit for earning increasing profits without creating anything of
value for use by the mankind. The system needs radical change in the approach, principles and
the operation of economic and financial systems. Creation of money, and lending it on interest –
interest based debts and financial obligations leading to undue receivables for the lenders, is
the biggest and primary problem of the conventional system. Islamic principles of finance
provide checks for the factors that have distorted the system. Enhanced supply of risk-related
capital, restricted risk taking, balanced return rate structure based on the real sector economic
activities, and supply of money commensurate with prospects of growth in an economy, provide
a sound basis for sustainable development. Hence, Islamic financial institutions and markets
have better ability to sustain in the hard times. Islamic banking industry should not only have
escaped unharmed during the crisis, it should also have availed the opportunity of developing

The country’s existing Islamic banking players remain unfazed by the upcoming competition in the form of more licences to be issued for world-class Islamic banks and takaful operators. CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd executive director and chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the move would result in a greater variety of syariah-based financial services and products being offered to the public.

But about 10 per cent of the Dubai’s US$80 billion debt load is estimated to comply with Shariah, casting the spot light on the credibility pedestal Islamic financing has ridden on over the years. Islamic banking experts at IIBI say that Islamic finance as a viable solution to get rid of the weaknesses of conventional finance is mainly limited to theoretical debate.

The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is co-operating with the Mufties Council of Russia to translate AAOIFI's international Islamic finance standards into Russian language. The translated standards are expected to help regulatory authorities and financial institutions in developing Islamic finance in jurisdictions that use Russian language as their official language.

With the global financial crisis putting the spotlight on "casino capitalism" of the West, leading scholars and experts from the Arab world on Thursday pitched for interest-free Islamic banking as a solution and its introduction in India, home to the world's largest Muslim minority.