News

Affin Holdings Bhd and The Bank of East Asia Ltd have formally established a partnership incl China

Affin Holdings Bhd (AHB) and The Bank of East Asia Ltd, Hong Kong (BEA) have formally established a partnership to jointly develop business in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other key markets where they both operate.

BEA chairman and chie...

The Dallah Al-Baraka Seminar Endowment

This time last year, after Asharq Al-Awsat Riyadh attended the thirtieth Dallah al-Baraka Seminar on Islamic Finance, he wrote an article suggesting that Sheikh Saleh Kamel should establish an Islamic endowment for this seminar in order to ensu...

European Finance House Undergoes Rebranding Campaign to Become QIB UK

Qatar Islamic Bank's subsidiary European Finance House (EFH) has recently rebranded as QIB UK in order to reinforce its positioning within QIB's expanding global network.The change was instituted at the beginning of August and acts to unify the...

Tanzania: Bank - Shariah Banking Attracts Many

Stanbic Bank Tanzania has recorded an impressive response to the Shariah banking scheme. Already 5,000 new customers have opened accounts since it was introduced three months ago. Managing director Bashir Awale said to its customers in Dar es S...

Guernsey: Shariah-Compliant Guernsey PCC is Launched

Investment manager Argyll Investment Services Limited has launched the World Shariah Funds PCC Limited, a Guernsey-based suite of Islamic-compliant investments which will be listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX) and distributed gl...

Qatar's QFIB isn't discussing buying Ihlas - Deputy CEO

Qatar First Investment Bank isn’t discussing the purchase of Ihlas Finans, the financial arm of Turkey’s Ihlas Holding AS. This statement was given by Emad Mansour.

Ashurst advises Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Al Hilal Bank on Emirates Steel's US$1.1 billion project financing agreement

Ashurst acted as counsel to the Islamic banks. The team was lead by managing partner of Ashurst's Abu Dhabi office, David Wadham, assisted by associate Faris Hadi. Denton Wilde Sapte (Neil Cuthbert) acted as counsel to Emirates Steel and Allen...

Thai SEC to launch Islamic bond regulations in Oct

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission planned to implement its first regulations governing the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in October, the head of the watchdog agency said on Wednesday. SEC Secretary-General Thirachai Phuvanatn...

Malaysia issues 4 new Islamic insurance licenses

Malaysia's central bank said Wednesday it has approved four licenses for Islamic life insurance to mostly foreign-led operators as part of an ongoing liberalization to make Malaysia a regional Islamic finance hub. Bank Negara Malaysia said in a...

Solidarity names Bseisu group chief executive

The Solidarity Group Holding board has appointed of Ashraf Bseisu as group chief executive officer. Mr Bseisu is a long-standing Solidarity executive and a prominent member of the region's insurance industry. Solidarity Group Holding, one of th...

Kuwait KIA Rejects Plan To Set Islamic Body To Back Small Projs-Report

The Kuwait investment Authority, or KIA, has turned down a parliamentary proposal to set up a shariah-compliant specialized entity to support small projects by Kuwaiti nationals. The sovereign wealth fund said that it is engaged in undertakings...

9/11 effect on Islamic banking overstated

Patrick Imam and Kangni Kpodar note that the 9/11 attack on the US ‘had a positive impact on assets of Islamic banks, perhaps because Muslim investors, who traditionally invested in the West, were compelled to keep more money at home for fear o...

France eyes top spot in Islamic finance industry

Islamic finance is a trillion dollar industry and has become part of the global financial system. The rating agency Moody's says that institutional and private investors look to tap into a market that may reach a staggering $5tn. Recently, Pari...

IIT debut sukuk in UK may lead to spate of new issuances

The recent launching of the first corporate Sukuk out of the UK by Gateshead-based International Innovative Technologies (IIT) may have taken the Islamic capital markets by surprise, but the signs are that a spate of other UK originations may f...

Kuveyt Turk Plans Second Sukuk as Market Grows: Islamic Finance

Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS is planning a second sale of Shariah-compliant debt for 2012. Kuveyt Turk, the Istanbul-based bank owned by Kuwait Finance House KSC, may sell more than $100 million of five-year sukuk. Islamic bond offerings may...

IDB gears up to launch sukuk offering under MTN program

The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is gearing up for its latest sukuk offering under its Medium Term Note (MTN) or Trust Certificate Issuance Program. The IDB, according to Mohamed Tariq, senior adviser to the President Ahmad Moham...

Shariah experts push for scholar certificates

Leading Islamic finance scholars are preparing the first global certification for Shariah experts, seeking to bolster the industry’s reputation and make it easier for banks to find qualified advisers. The International Shariah Research Academy...

Moody’s cautious on Islamic banking?

Bahrain (665km²) is smaller than King Fahd airport (780km²) and has achieved being the biggest centre of Islamic finance in the world, democracy, its very own airline. Moody's, a ratings agency, says it doesn't think Bahrain has sufficient cash...

IDB's 'AAA' credit rating affirmed

JEDDAH - Standard & Poor's assigned 'AAA' rating to Islamic Development Bank (IDB) $3.5 billion trust certificate issuance program, IDB said in a statement on Wednesday. Standard & Poor's said the IDB's ratings are underpinned by strong...

Sovereign Sukuk Beating Company Debt First Time Since May: Islamic Finance

Sovereign Islamic bonds from Asia to the Persian Gulf are beating returns on corporate sukuk for the first time in three months as accelerating economic growth and rising oil revenue shore up state finances. Malaysia’s Lembaga Tabung Haji fund,...

Indonesia raises 336 bln rph in sukuk private placement

Indonesia's finance ministry, Agus Martowardojo, sold 336 billion rupiah of sukuk to the religious affairs ministry through a private placement, said the debt office. The bonds will help fund a budget deficit seen at 1.5 percent of gross domest...

Islamic bank injection to help Sharia-compliant products

A £20m capital injection into Islamic Bank of Britain will help develop more home loans in line with Sharia law, an expert from Defaqto has said. David Black, banking expert from Defaqto, said: “The £20m capital investment will enable the IBB t...

Turkey’s first Islamic bond offering oversubscribed

Dubai Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, will pay a coupon of 5.25 per cent on Turkey’s first Islamic bond offering that was oversubscribed, said people close to the transaction. Kuveyt Turk launched the three-ye...

Saudi mortgage law delay 'will hit lenders' - BMI

Saudi Arabia's parliament delays the decision concerning the mortgage law until the members return from summer recess. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy, needs 1.2 million new homes by 2015, says the Deutsche Bank research.

Sukuk pickup seen in H2 - HSBC Amanah

Razi Fakih, HSBC Amanah deputy chief executive, says the company is optimistic and sukuk is unlikely to fade out. HSBC has already served as Islamic bond manager on 13 sukuk issues in the first half of the year according Reuters Data. Research...

Saudi mortgage law sparks 'differences of opinion'

The Shoura Council has completed 12 sittings regarding the draft of the mortgage law and to solve the differences of opinion. However, a timescale for when the draft law would be approved has not been given. The implementation of the Saudi mort...

Jailing Gulf debtors 'morally wrong' - economics academic

A leading economist says the practice of jailing debtors is morally wrong. In the rest of the world it is the banks’ responsibility to try to assess the credit worthiness of individuals. Prof Batchelor is trying to rebuild Dubai’s image. He thi...

World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists Launches “Pakistan Reconstruction Fund” Marking the Second World Humanitarian Day

World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists Launches “Pakistan Reconstruction Fund” Marking the Second World Humanitarian Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Oak Brook, Illinois, August 19, 2010: The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (...

Comments Invited for Policy Brief by Hawkamah’s Task Force on Corporate Governance of Islamic Financial Institutions

Hawkamah issues a DRAFT Policy Brief for consultation purposes only. Please find the related full document under source.

Please submit comments and feedback to Ms. Jahanara Sajjad Ahmad , Program Manager Hawkamah, The Institute For Corpor...

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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

August 9th 2010

Doctors Worldwide: British...

Ihsanoglu reiterates his call for a prompt action to contain the catastrophic situation in Pakistan

Date: 07/08/2010 -

OIC Secretary General, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, called, on 07.08.2010, upon OIC member states, its affiliated relief organizations and the international community to take a prompt action in order to contain the...

PWC presents Takaful in Germany

PricewaterhouseCoopers offers a full day event about Takaful in Germany language. Below more details:

PwC Talk
Sharia-konforme Lebensversicherungsprodukte
16. September 2010, Köln
20. September 2010, München

Währen...

The journal of strategic thinking in Islamic finance - Issue 3 for free download

In the current issues the following questions are discussed:

How should we recognize excellence in the Islamic finance industry?
How do we identify greatness – of bankers and financiers, of lawyers, of consultants, of scholars?