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The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Centre for Responsible Business together with the Pearl Initiative organized a seminar on integrated reporting. The seminar was held in the Dubai Chamber's head office in Dubai on Wednesday 14th. Professionals in the areas of CSR, sustainability, finance and strategy occupied in listed companies, public sector, private companies, state-owned enterprises and family firms took part in the event. The major topic of the seminar was integrated reporting - what it was and what ossibilities there are to help businesses take more sustainable decisions. Also, means to enable investors and other stakeholders to understand how an organisation is really performing were discussed.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) showed its support for the Diabetes Day by organizing activities through a small clinic at Baitok Tower. KFH employees and other visitors are permitted to conduct blood tests for diabetes. Also, awareness regarding the disease and means to prevent it is raised in this way. Thousands of patients and their families are targeted by the activities organized by KFH in support of the Diabetes Day. In addition, illuminating Baitok Tower in blue shows support to millions of patients worldwide.

In cooperation with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Group, Egyptian National Bank for Development (NBD) signed up to Standard Chartered Bank's Islamic Euro Nostro Account. Using this Nostro product, NBD will be able to earn Shariah-compliant profits on its account balances at Standard Chartered Bank Germany Branch in Frankfurt. The agreement was made at SIBOS 2012 in Osaka, Japan. The main feature of the Standard Chartered Saadiq EUR Nostro Account is that it utilises a Shariah-compliant account sweep facility. Available EUR balance in NBD's Saadiq clearing account will be used for investment using the Islamic finance mode of Murabaha at the end of each business day.

In conclusion of the two-day Muscat International Islamic Finance Forum a set of key recommendations was compiled by the organisers. The recommendations are a result of the discussions among the participants which included senior industry figures, global investors, takaful operators, bankers, as well as top Shariah scholars. The recommendations include the following areas: regulatory framework, Shariah, asset liability management (ALM), in-country value (development of real economic sectors & SME), asset / fund management, education, takaful, sukuk, and media & awareness.

Eman Al-Shemmari, the head of Nuclear Medicine Sections at the Ministry of Health, expressed his admiration for Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and its actions to sponsor the Nuclear Medicine International Week. The event took place under the auspices of the Minister of Health Ali Al-Obaidi and included a number of scientific lectures in the mentioned medical field. The lectures were held in several hospitals in Kuwait. According to Al-Shemmari, KFH is largely responsible for the success of the event and the enrichment of the medical cadres and public.

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) made an upgrade to the ratings of Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi (KTKB) on the national scale from 'A/A-2' (tr) (Single A/ A-Two) to 'A+/A-1' (tr) (Single A Plus/ A-One). Both foreign and local currency ratings have been reaffirmed on the international scale at 'BBB-/A-3' (Triple B Minus/ A-Three) and 'BBB/ A-3' (Triple B/ A-Three), respectively. The outlook on the ratings is said to be stable. Even though the Turkish economy has shown resilience in the backdrop of global economic challenges, due to the policy measures taken in 2011, it can expected for the GDP growth to endure moderation.

Family businesses play a key role in the business scene of the Middle East and are intrinsic to the region's economy as well. According to the latest Deloitte ME Point of View publication however, challenges faced by today's family businesses grow in number. Ideas how they can be overcome are discussed in the publication. In the article titled 'Family Businesses: Addressing the challenges faced in today's environment' the competition of family businesses in a more turbulent environment is pointed out. The environment is marked by pluralistic social values, intensified competition, a global economy and rapidly changing politics and regulation.

An agreement was signed between Bank Sohar and Dar al Sharia, which will build the foundations of a Shari'ah-compatible Islamic window. According to the deal, Dar al Sharia shall provide help to the Omani lender in terms of issues relating to Islamic banking and financial services. These include Shari'ah-compliant structuring and documentation services for all types of products.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has managed to bring up Islamic finance as an ethical and sustainable business model in the global financial scene. In a TV series launched by Bloomberg TV and sponsored by ADIB, CEO of ADIB Tirad Al Mahmoud explained his view of Shari'a-compliant banking being a viable, resilient and ethical business model. Especially because of the global financial crisis, the demand for ethical banking all around the world has been extremely high.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/adib-islamic-finance-global-ethical-business-316817

The government of Oman chose KPMG to work on recommendations for the amendment to the tax legislation. The amendment aims to accommodate Islamic banking products and services. Thus, Shari'ah-compliant services will not be less favourable compared with conventional products any more.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/oman-commissions-kpmg-recommend-changes-tax-316728

Medgulf Allianz Takaful a cheque and several gifts to the children of Alia School for Early Intervention. The initiative is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. More than 100 students with special needs are given education at the school. The donation comes from an internal sales campaign during Ramadan.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/medgulf-allianz-takaful-donates-alia-school-315607

According to an announcement by Bloomberg, Banque Saudi Fransi (BSFR) has been approved by the Saudi central bank to issue Islamic bonds worth SR2.5bn ($667m). The expected effects of the sukuk include enhancing the bank's capital base and expansion of ots lending activities.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/sama-approves-banque-saudi-fransis-667m-315206

The 2nd Corporate Governance Conference for SMEs was organised and opened in Dubai by Dubai SME. As part of the Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai SME is occupied with with the development of the small and medium enterprise sector. The conference is held under the title 'Execution and Best Practices in Corporate Governance'. Its purpose is to promote implementation and exemplary practices of corporate governance as well as to focus on SMEs that have initiated corporate governance. At the corporate event, guide on effective execution of corporate governance and a case study on the implementation of it in Dubai SMEs will be made public.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/dubai-sme-organises-2nd-corporate-governance-314395

The central bank of Bahrain has given its confirmation to the merge of Capivest, Elaf Bank and Capital Management House (CMH). The three Islamic lenders will merge into a $400m asset base and $350m shareholder equity entity will get underway before the end of 2012. Ratification of the decision of the three banks by the apex lender and the industry and commerce ministry is expected in June.

More on: http://www.ameinfo.com/bahraini-islamic-banks-merger-2012-end-313053

Wealth fund Mumtalakat, Bahrain, has priced a 300 million ringgit ($97.7m) five-year sukuk on September 7. Standard Chartered and CIMB Islamic helped pricing the Islamic bond. The murabaha-structured deal has been issued as part of the company's three billion ringgit sukuk programme. The issuance itself is due October 4.

More on: http://www.ameinfo.com/mumtalakat-issue-977m-islamic-bond-313070

GFH Capital discusses the takeover of the English football club Leeds United and has considerably advanced in its negotiations. Even though a football club is not typical for a bank's business, GFH Capital has discussed logistic and other issues at length and it is possible for the investment operation to be finalized by the end of the year.

More on: http://www.ameinfo.com/gfh-capital-talks-takeover-leeds-united-312875

At a recent press conference, Ridge Islamic Capital announced its official inauguration and launch of its activities in the Egyptian market. The company plays the role of a moderate solution between modern investment banking and traditional Sharia compliant commercial banking. The launch will be a milestone in providing Sharia compliant solutions in the region and is expected to raise the company's revenues and its investors and shareholders' value.

More on: http://www.ameinfo.com/ridge-islamic-capital-announces-official-launch-3...

Saudi Automotive Services' shares decreased by 0.50% to SR19.95. The company announced that it signed up for a SR255m Islamic credit facility with Banque Saudi Fransi. The financial means will flow into the realization of expansion plans.

In an announcement by National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) its plans to seek an Islamic banking licence in Malaysia were revealed. This licence is to meet the demand for Shari'ah-compliant financing. After starting non-Islamic commercial banking operations, the company endeavours further expansion. According to CEO of National Bank of Abu Dhabi Malaysia Bhd, Leong See Meng, good opportunities exist for operations abroad.

According to KPMG Oman, conventional banks in Oman that do not offer any Islamic banking services will face the threat to lose numerous customers which will prefer a bank that offers Shari'ah-compliant financial services. Khalid Yousaf, Director of Islamic Finance Advisory Services, KPMG Oman, claims that opening an Islamic window operation is a safe strategy. As a reason he points out that it requires less capital while, at the same time, sharing a common cost base with additional business.