IslamicFinance.de

Middle East Islamic financial institutions are seen to be more Syariah-compliant than Malaysia's. This is the result of a research on "Developing a Model for Harmonization of Syariah Rulings in Islamic Finance" conducted by Dr Amir Shaharuddin from Islamic Science University of Malaysia.

See more under: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=699667

The Islamic capital market is prospering as the current growing expectations are rising. But in order to progress the industry, there must be strong governance, disclosure, proper due diligence, transparency, ethics, and corporate as well as social responsibility. It is also necessary to promote the syariah-based approach and increase international cooperation on syariah research and product development as well.

See more under: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/3/business/121171...

MENA Private Equity Association will collaborate with the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance in order to advancing corporate governance within the Private Equity sector. The main scope of the cooperation should be to re-assess the current governance practices in the private equity industry and to draw up a policy brief.

See more under: http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=158952

Ithmaar Banks merger talks with its associate, First Leasing Bank, has moved on. The boards of both banks approved the plans as well as the kingdom's banking regulator the central bank had given its initial approval for merger.

See more under: http://www.ameinfo.com/ithmaar-set-close-merger-deal-leasing-313763

TBLI Conference presentations are from now accessible online to all. Just login or register and you will get access to thousends of presentations, including audio, video and power point.

See more under: http://blog.tbli.org/?p=1216

Dubai Woman Establishment is going to organize the 3rd edition of Arab Women Leadership Forum on November 19-20. The event called "Board Leadership and the Case for Diversity" will focus on issues and opportunities surrounding the role of women in the boardrooms. Among the participants will be an elite group of women leaders from around the region that will share practical ideas and deliberate on topics related to board leadership and diversity of a woman.

See more under: http://www.zawya.com/story/Dubai_Women_Establishment_to_Host_Third_Arab_...

Malaysian government plans to introduce tax exemption for companies with Tun Razak Exchange (or TRX) status. It is considered to be an important move in government's efforts to position Malaysia as a central investment destination for foreign investors. According to analysts, the development of TRX financial hub should attract about 250 international financial services companies and offer 40.000 new job opportunities.

See more under: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=698332

International Islamic Trade Finance has granted a credit to Egypt worth USD 235m. This financial package should help to the state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. to secure country's commodity supply. The Egyptian Ministry of Finance will assume responsibility for paying back the credit, in case if the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. cannot perform obligations under the contract.

See more under: http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2265517&language=en

Brunei Darussalam strives to become a knowledge-based economy. Information and communications technology shall be a pillar for this ambition, which is why the country has been strongly supporting innovation in the industry and has benn investing in its infrastructure. However, Asian rivals make out huge competition in the field of software, which the Sultanate was hoping to boost its expert economy. In August, Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry informed about grants for the businesses as high as BN$250,000 ($197,930).

More on: http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/economic_updates/brunei-darussalam-se...

The book titled An Islamic Analysis of the Grameen Bank presents a detailed analysis of the Grameen bank model. Key factors for the success of the Nobel Prize awarded bank are discussed. Furthermore, the model is inspected from Islamic point of view, thus explaining the contradictions between the Grameen Bank and the Islamic principles in terms of economics and society. In the last part of the book a new Shari’ah-promoting model - the Positive Circle - is introduced.

Islamic financial body ASAS intends to globally launch a new scholar programme with aim to improve the financial literacy of scholars and this way to prevent the slowing of the industrial growth. In addition, it should be developed a global code of etics, in order to improve standards in the industry.

Bank Islam Malaysia has allocated RM 200,000 in order to effectuate various welfare programmes fulfilling its commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) for Ramadan this year.

Somali Ambassador Idd Mohamed wishes to establish a stock exchange in neighbouring Kenya in order to allow other east Africans access to companies in Kenya. This should encourage priavate capital to develop across the continent.

Bank of Amercia/Merrill Lynch released a report about GCC 2020 looking at the core trends of modernising infrastructure, growth and decoupling from oil and that the region should look towards higher value added sectors. "First, and most immediately, we believe heavy investment in petrochemicals will now begin to see improving returns due to their global competitive advantage. Second, we believe a shift will require an ongoing need to invest in regional infrastructure. Third, we see a social and economic need for a growing middle class, supporting the growth of consumer sectors. Our message: own Saudi petchems, own GCC builders and building materials, own Saudi and UAE consumer plays, own Saudi banks."

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) are pleased to announce the launch of the ISDA/IIFM Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) product standard to be used for Islamic hedging purposes.

The Mubadalatul Arbaah (MA) standard follows on from the “ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut (Hedging) Master Agreement” and provides the industry with a framework for Islamic risk mitigation. The launch of the Tahawwut Master Agreement as the template for Shari’ah-compliant risk management was officially announced at a press conference hosted by Central Bank of Bahrain in March 2010.

Dear Readers,

aside from Islamic banks there is another model in practice for more than 20 years avoiding the topic of interest. I usually cite it in my seminars to show that even interest free loans can exist along a banking model. Years ago, an in depht analysis was published online:

http://anielski.com/wp-content/documents/The%20JAK%20Bank%20Report.pdf

In the meantime interested groups can seek assistance to set it up by:

http://www.cajasweden.se/downloads/caja_folder_e-version.pdf

And also JAK offers courses and backgrounds for international interested groups from abroad in their first newsletter:

http://jak.aventus.nu/download/JAK_Int/JAK_International_Newsletter_1.pdf

Addendum: A master thesis about JAK Medlemsbank can be downloaded here:

http://www.jak.se/sites/default/files/folkbildning/dokument/MARK_BURTON_...

Enjoy reading and take it as a source of inspiration!

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

Dear Reader,

IslamicFinance.de is privately funded for many years. Now, for the first time, you have the possibility to make a contribution, from one Dollar upwards!

The technical details, and the money transfer via paypal is organised by Kapipal a new online fundraising tool:

http://www.kapipal.com/islamicfinance

On the blog I gave some more thoughts about Islamic finance media for those interested: http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3454

Please also note: The fundraising action has a deadline, so act today, not tomorrow and tell your friends about it!

All donors who will leave a message will be listed in the article, which follows after closure of the fundraising period.

I am happy to meet you in person either on 19th March in Milano (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3396) or on 10th May in Frankfurt (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=BAFINII) at the respective Islamic finance conference.

Wa at Taufiq min Allah, all the best,

Michael Saleh Gassner

Dear Readers,

Islamic finance media are a tricky service. This is true for various reasons: The Internet eats up the revenues, because everything ought to be free. Islamic banks are still a niche phenomena, and international banks like UBS or Deutsche are almost as large as the entire global Islamic finance industry. Consequently the marketing budgets are much lower, too.

Last not least, who should advertise? The banks among themselves or to the clients? Advertising from bank to bank, does usually not make much sense, but real client oriented formats are hard to find, too. May be this is a niche. Others, who could finance Islamic finance media are basically the service providers to the banks, but due to the limited number of Islamic financial insitutions, direct marketing, e.g. face to face meetings will be preferred.

This in short is the background why Islamic finance media are not so well established in terms of journalism and research, but mostly reflecting the press release as criticised by the makers of the Islamic Globe. See: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

K&L Gates Seminar
Islamic Finance: Recent Issues and Career Opportunities
February 20, 2012
The Arab Spring of 2011, the Goldman Sachs $2bn Islamic bond, the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate - just three recent topics that have reignited interest in Islamic Finance.

This programme addressed recent issues in Islamic Finance and potential career opportunities in the industry.

Specific topics covered included:

What happens when Islamic Finance transactions go wrong? The use of arbitration to resolve disputes.
The impact of the Arab Spring of 2011 on the growth of Islamic Finance.
The convergence of Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Socially Responsible Investment principles.
The role of private equity and leasing in Islamic investing.
The Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate.
Career opportunities in Islamic Finance.
The global impact of Islamic Finance in Europe, the Middle East and the US.
Speakers included:

Dr Humayon Dar - Chairman, President & CEO - Edbiz Consulting
Jonathan Lawrence - Islamic Finance Partner - K&L Gates, London
Mohammed Amin - Islamic Finance Consultant - Conservative Muslim Forum
Kathleen Bradley - Counsel - K&L Gates, Doha

In its 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report illustrated by masterpieces of Islamic calligraphy, by the Chinese Muslim master Hajji Noordeen, deals with the theme “The path to corporate transformation – converting a company to Islam”.

Bank Sarasin reviews the complexities of converting a business to Islam, a topic which is rarely discussed or written about. Conversion is complicated by the need to address every aspect of a business, the lack of broadly accepted standards and regulations, and differences in the Muslim world itself. The Report, released today, is the Bank’s third on Islamic Wealth Management.

Converting a business to Islam can increase the value of a company by 18-25% due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments. But the conversion process is arduous, extending from the design to distribution and beyond, to how the company spends its profits. As Sarasin notes, the market potential is massive, with the global Muslim population expected to increase by 26% to 2030, to 2.2 billion, rivalling China and India in terms of market size.