IslamicFinance.de

Debt management agency ISDM calculated the average debt load of its customers is AED500,000.

The agency has more than 3,000 clients on its books and about 70 percent of its customers are defaulting on consumer rather than business loans. About 5 % of the clients are ex-UAE residents who have skipped the country rather than face jail for their debts. Banks can recover 80 cents on the dollar through consolidation. Through a debt collection agency, may receive 40 cents on the dollar according to the firm's director Yohannes Mazeingi.

Dubai-based ISDM advises clients in debt distress to consolidate their loans and negotiate with the banks. It collects a two percent fee commission based on the overall value of the debt.

Under UAE law, bouncing a cheque is a criminal offence that can result in a jail sentence.

Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Rashid Mohammad Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain both have called for reforms in improving the foundations of Islamic finance for it to expand globally.

Such refroms includes rulings by Shari’ah boards to be better co-ordinated and harmonised to enable the setting of credible standards. In addition, a clearer distinction also needed to be defined between profit to shareholders and profit to investors and depositors.

Islamic banks account for 16 per cent of the UAE’s banking system and 11 per cent of Bahrain’s banking system.

A special fund which receives contributions to be given out for scholarships, research and development activities called the "Dana Khas INCEIF" has been set up by the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).

Set up by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2006, INCEIF, the global university for Islamic finance has received contributions totaling RM909,146 from a number of local and foreign financial institutions.

Contributions have been channeled to INCEIF's funds, namely the Financial Assistance and the Fisabilillah Trust Fund.

A total of RM798,240 or 88 per cent of the total amount received have been disbursed to 251 deserving students as of to date, both to Malaysians and non Malaysians including Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and India, all based on their academic results and potential contribution to the Islamic finance industry.

Bangladesh has seen the importance of the "halal" branding to its local market. Although Islamic finance started off early in the 90s in Bangladesh, the industry suffers from several imperative foundations such as lack of unified Shariah rulings, absence of an Islamic inter-bank money market , absence of courses in universities on Islamic financial products, shortage of skilled personnel who are well-versed in the complexities of this specific sector, and difficulty in identification of Shariah-compliant production and service chains are holding back potential of local financial institutions, local manufacturers, and service providers from signing up on this new economic wave.

Not much success has been achieved over the years when Bangladesh worked with Malaysia's Halal Development Corporation and other partners of the D-8 (eight developing Islamic countries) despite the fast setting up infrastructure, guidelines and facilitative bodies to cash in on the Islamic branding potential in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and even India.

Islamic finance seems to be starting to be implemented in Russia, although by very careful steps. The potential size of the market has received various estimates, from a modest 10 percent of the practicing Muslims to the whole ethnic Muslim population of more than 30 million, or even more.

There is no doubt that the near future will witness rapid development of the industry. Already a number of Russian companies like Linova, Safinat and Islamic Finance House are half way through starting new Islamic finance projects.

At the same time, the Russian Islamic finance professional business community is being formed. One of the examples of this is the working group on alternative (Islamic) financial institutions and products that grew into the Russian Association on Islamic Finance Experts in 2010. A number of business and trade unions have been formed in the Tatarstan republic.

Bank Indonesia (BI) is attempting to provide tax incentives to the Islamic banking industry. “BI and the Finance Ministry are mapping the tax regulations, discussing which areas to be provided with the incentives,” said Syariah Banking Director Mulya E. Siregar.

The meeting discussed the technical phase with the Finance Ministry. This is another way for the central bank to accelerate the growth of syariah bank products which have been judged to be difficult to develop due to the lack of innovation. Yet overseas, many syariah products have emerged, giving the investors a wide variety to choose from.

The condition has become worse with the slowness of the National Syariah Board in issuing a fatwa about the products immediately. Before they are marketed, syariah products must receive a fatwa from the board. At least 54 syariah products failed to get a favorable fatwa have not received the fatwa.

The development of syariah banks has also been slowed down by the lack of human resources. By 2015, Indonesia will be part of the ASEAN economic community.

The Islamic Institute for Research and Training, an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has announced launching the data system of the Islamic banks and financial institutions "IBIS" as an Electronic-Gate Data for Islamic Banking Information.

Dr Ahmad Mohammed Ali, the IDB's President, has reiterated the adherence of the IDB to making available all information that may contribute to the development and spreading of the Islamic financial and banking sciences and services.

Two Arabic-language Gulf dailies, Kuwait's Awan and Bahrain's Al-Waqt, announced that they are closing due to economic difficulties.

Awan's editor Mohammed al-Rumeihi said in a front-page article that the newspaper was closing due to "extremely harsh economic reasons," without elaborating.

The daily, which published its last edition on Monday, is closing after about 30 months of publication.

Kuwait, which will still have 14 Arabic and three English-language newspapers, besides dozens of other publications, saw another daily close more than a year ago due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

Assawt was being financed by Investment Dar, a Kuwaiti Islamic investment firm that was severely affected by the economic downturn.

In Bahrain, Al-Waqt daily attributed its closure to the fact that it was unable to increase its income, or "find a strategic partner or ... buyer."

The publication, which released its first issue in March 2006, will close on Tuesday, leaving Bahrain with six Arabic and two English-language newspapers.