Malaysia

Arcapita to conduct rights issue

The investment firm Arcapita has said it is conducting a rights issue to raise fresh funds from shareholders, as it prepares to refinance a $1.1bn loan due next year.
The firm also plans to market the rights issue to new institutional investors in the Gulf region, Malaysia and other parts of Asia.

Elaf Bank to arrange sukuk in Southeast Asia

Jamil El-Jaroudi, chief executive of Bahrain-based Elaf Bank, has unveiled plans to arrange Islamic bonds in South East Asia.
The Islamic investment bank won a mandate to act as financial advisor on sukuk issues in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Prominent Saudi scholar warns on agenda against Shariah advisories

Malaysia adopted on Jan. 1 a new Shariah Governance Framework (SGF) for Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) that supersedes the Guidelines on the Governance of Shariah Committees of IFIs introduced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
One prominent international Shariah advisory to the Islamic finance industry, Muhammed Elgari of Saudi Arabia, agrees that Malaysia’s Shariah Governance Framework for IFIs could become a blueprint for other countries to follow.

Malaysia Debt Ventures to focus on Islamic finance

MALAYSIA Debt Ventures Bhd (MDV) will focus more of its activities on Islamic financing this year
The company was determined to support the government's effort to promote Islamic finance and use the funds raised from sukuk issues to finance development projects.

Amanah Raya plans Kazakhstan Islamic bank in 2012

Malaysian trustee firm Amanah Raya Bhd expects to obtain licences to set up Kazakhstan’s second Islamic bank in the second quarter of 2011 and begin operating the lender within a year.
Amanah Raya would have a 55 per cent stake in the joint venture company to be set up, state-run Development Bank of Kazakhstan will own 40 per cent and brokerage Fattah Finance the balance.

Gulf borrowers tap Malaysia for sukuk sales

Arabian Gulf borrowers are selling ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds at a record pace in Malaysia to raise funds for expansion and take advantage of demand in the world’s biggest market for Shariah-compliant bonds.
Dubai’s government is “likely” to sell bonds next year and a Malaysian offering is a possibility.

BNM consults market on Shariah parameter for Istisna contracts

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) published last week the draft of its latest Shariah consultation on Islamic financial products, the "Concept Paper of Shariah Parameter Reference 5: Istisna Contract (SPR5)". SPR5 is aimed at becoming the true source of reference on the nature and features of the Istisna contract for the Islamic financial services industry and to facilitate the consistent implementation of the contract in the Malaysian financial market.

Female Shariah Scholars See Gender Gap Closing

Asian Islamic financial institutions are attracting more female executives and scholars to fill a shortage of talent, setting a precedent for companies in the Middle East.
In November Malaysia’s Shariah Advisory Council appointed a second female scholar to its 11-member board. Indonesia has six women on its panel of 35 experts.

Tatarstan set for debut sukuk

Work on the feasibility study on the sukuk origination is set to start this month, after the President Rustam Minnikhanov of the Russian republic of Tatarstan has visited Malaysia in December and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Kuala Lumpur between the Tatarstan government, the local IFC Linova, Malaysia's Amanah Raya Berhad Group and Kuwait Finance House Malaysia (KFH Malaysia).

'M’sia has a clear lead in Islamic capital market’

The nation’s Islamic capital market is seen as being intelligently positioned within the evolving Islamic financial-services industry.
As one of the panel members at the 17th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference 2010 (WIBC 2010) in Manama, Bahrain, Zakariya cited two key factors that must be taken into consideration when tackling legal constraints namely the competency of the civil courts in hearing Islamic banking and finance cases, as well as the adherence to a recognised body such as the Syariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara, or Securities Commission of Malaysia.

Malaysia's central bank still reviewing Islamic mega bank bids

Bank Negara Malaysia is offering up to two new Islamic banking licences to foreign firms to set up banks with at least $1 billion of paid-up capital. The industry hopes that this will spur more lending and create bigger Islamic banks that can compete with global lenders.
Bankers say the bid to create a well-capitalised Islamic bank has been fraught with difficulties such as a struggle to raise sufficient capital and disagreement as to where the lender should be located.

Malaysia, Yemen, Gulf Investment, France: Islamic Bond Alert

The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds: MALAYSIA, YEMEN, DUBAI, GULF INVESTMENT CORP., FRANCE, SAUDI INTERNATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL CO., GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY, NAKHEEL PJSC, SABAH CREDIT CORP., CREDIT AGRICOLE SA, NOOR ISLAMIC BANK, NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK, KPJ HEALTHCARE BHD., EMIRATES TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., SENEGAL, ALBARAKA BANKING GROUP., ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK, THAILAND, KNM GROUP BHD., CAGAMAS BHD., SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO., GAMUDA BHD., EGYPT, PT BANK MUAMALAT INDONESIA, SENAI-DESARU EXPRESSWAY BHD., MALAYSIA DEBT VENTURES BHD, INDONESIA, TURKEY, KAZAKHSTAN, PHILIPPINES, SAUDI ELECTRICITY CO., EMIRATES INTEGRATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO., LAFARGE MALAYAN CEMENT BHD..

Sukuk Beating Emerging-Market Bonds for the Second Month

Islamic bonds are outperforming emerging-market debt for a second month as new note sales rebound, Malaysia boosts spending on roads and power plants and confidence returns to the Persian Gulf.
Islamic debt sales increased 34 percent in the second half compared with the first six months.

Shariah-Compliant Hedging Derivatives Start in Malaysia

Standard Chartered Plc and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd. plan to offer Shariah-compliant derivatives in Malaysia that will allow investors to hedge against interest rates and commodity prices.
Bank Islam Malaysia, the country’s oldest Islamic lender, will offer swaps that allow two parties to exchange different forms of payments from an underlying asset. Standard Chartered, the U.K. bank that earns most of its profit from emerging markets, will begin selling contracts in the first quarter that provide protection from fluctuations in the cost of items such as rice and oil.

Great Eastern Takaful Launched in Malaysia

Great Eastern Takaful Sdn. Bhd. as commenced business in Malaysia.
Malaysia-based Great Eastern Takaful offers comprehensive takaful, or Islam-compliant insurance products and services, with the aim to achieve 180 million ringgit (US$57.2 million) in total weighted contributions for its first year.
In September, Bank Negara granted new licenses for family takaful to four joint venture entities led by foreign and local insurance and financial companies. The four new family takaful licences were granted to joint ventures led by Great Eastern, ING Groep NV, American International Assurance Bhd. and AMMB Holdings Bhd.

NBAD Issues 500 Million Malaysian Ringgit Sukuk

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has successfully issued its second ever Sukuk (Islamic bonds) in Malaysia. The bond issue was for 500 million ringgit and was issued under NBAD’s MYR Medium Term Notes (MTN) 3 billion programme. The transaction has a strong distribution across a wide investor base with a breakdown of fund managers 33%, insurance companies 27%, financial institutions 10%, and other corporations 30%.

Colleges Expanding Shariah Courses Amid Scholar Shortage

Universities are expanding Islamic finance courses as demand for professionals qualified in Shariah law outstrips supply in the $1 trillion industry.
After enrollment for its general program in finance complying with Muslim tenets tripled in the past year, the International Islamic University of Malaysia plans to start postgraduate courses specializing in Shariah-compliant capital markets, banking and insurance. La Trobe University in Melbourne, which started classes this year, is working with officials in Malaysia to offer industry-recognized qualifications.

Colleges Expanding Shariah Courses Amid Scholar Shortage

Universities are expanding Islamic finance courses as demand for professionals qualified in Shariah law outstrips supply in the $1 trillion industry.
After enrollment for its general program in finance complying with Muslim tenets tripled in the past year, the International Islamic University of Malaysia plans to start postgraduate courses specializing in Shariah-compliant capital markets, banking and insurance. La Trobe University in Melbourne, which started classes this year, is working with officials in Malaysia to offer industry-recognized qualifications.

Malaysia pushing for Islamic finance legal framework

Many jurisdictions are interested in Islamic finance and have taken initiatives to develop the industry through reviewing their legal framework to facilitate the introduction of a range of Islamic financial products, including more recently France, Ireland, Australia, Jordan, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Lebanon.
One of the key determinants for the successful development of Islamic finance in any jurisdiction is the existence of a conducive legal framework that supports the operations and growth of the industry.

IDB lists on Bursa First multilateral bank to put sukuk programme on exchange

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) this morning listed its trust certificate issuance programme or sukuk programme on Bursa Malaysia.
The conferment is given to foreigncurrency denominated issuances with a focus to provide greater visibility to the Malaysian market in raising funds by local and foreign corporations.

Syndicate content