Malaysia

Nigeria to expand Islamic banking with assistance from Malaysia

Nigeria plans to license at least two Islamic financial institutions by the end of the year and is getting assistance from Malaysia to expand its sharia-compliant industry, in a nation where 70 percent of people have no access to regular banking services.
Central Bank of Nigeria governor Lamido Sanusi said this month that as many as three non-Islamic banks had expressed interest in opening sharia-compliant “windows”.

Malaysia's capital market crosses RM2tril

Malaysia's capital market crossed the RM2 trillion threshold for the first time ever as at end-2010.
In releasing the SC's Annual Report 2010, chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar noted that the capital market had achieved an annual compounded growth rate of 11% from RM717bil in 2000 due to rapid industry expansion and strong regulatory oversight that underpinned investor confidence in the Malaysian capital market.

Najib's ETP & focus on Islamic finance attracting foreign lawyers

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has got the attention of foreign lawyers who are keen to learn more about Islamic financial instruments for business development and economic reconstruction.
Lawyers from premier firms from 18 cities in the region and from other major financial centers, who congregated here last week to attend the Asia Pacific Regional Meeting of Interlaw, acknowledged Malaysia's specialised expertise in Islamic finance.

Islamic Bonds Make a Comeback

The global market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, returned to growth last year, shaking off the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.
After two turbulent years, the market started making a strong comeback at the end of 2010. While Malaysia continues to dominate the sukuk market, accounting for 78 percent of total issuances in 2010.
The Gulf region is expected to play a larger and more sustainable role in the sukuk market in the future, according to research by S.&P., in the expectation of a gradual recovery in economic activities and the region’s need to finance the huge pipeline of government projects and infrastructure for events planned for the coming years, like the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Allianz boosts Malaysian Takaful market

The over-insured but tiny Malaysian Takaful market may be about to see yet another new entrant. It seems that Allianz Malaysia is about to enter the market by acquiring a stake in Takaful Ikhlas.
The Malaysian Takaful market is worth around $10bn and is attractive to new entrants more for its growth potential rather than its present value. The market is growing at between 15% and 20% a year.

SC, OCIS Convene Roundtable On Islamic Finance

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies convened a two-day closed door Roundtable on Islamic Finance in Oxfordshire, England, over the weekend.
A select group of key industry practitioners, senior academicians, Shariah scholars, standard setters and regulators from around the world discussed three topics under the theme "Islamic Finance and the Public Good".

Islamic sovereign wealth fund over mega bank?

An Islamic SWF, also seen as a fund-of-funds, may actually be the necessary spark to jump-start a global Islamic asset management or, in today's hub-centric parlance, an Islamic asset management hub!
The industry has been talking up an Islamic mega bank for a few years, from Sh Saleh Kamal to Malaysia
In the post-crisis period, G-20 regulators are examining "ways and means" to reduce the systemic risk.associated with the mega-banks. Islamic finance industry, without a lender of last resort and sporadic Islamic deposit insurance, needs to examine the suggestions before wholesale adoption of a proposed mega bank.

Growth of women in Islamic finance remains a challenge

Many women have and are still contributing to the development of the contemporary Islamic finance movement, and yet their contribution, except in countries such as Malaysia, has largely been marginalized by an industry that is still dominated by middle class men.
The issue of gender equality and empowerment is one that affects all societies whether in the West or East. The issue of unequal payment for the same jobs in the City of London, one of the world's largest financial centers, is still entrenched. The number of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies is still woefully low.

Malaysia Biotech in $80m Islamic facility

Malaysia's Bio-XCell is finalizing the details of a yet undisclosed commodity Murabahah facility with a leading local bank.
The financing is estimated to be around RM250m ($82.2m). Details have not yet become available but signing of the agreements should take place in a few weeks.

Source: 

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110310083234/Malaysia-Biotech-in-$80m-Islamic-facility

IILM Targets To Issue First Shariah-Compliant Financial Instruments By Year-End

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) is expected to issue the first Shariah-compliant financial instruments by year-end.
The minimum size of the instruments could be US$300 million depending on the market demand.
The IILM was established on October 2010 with 14 founding shareholders, comprising the 12 central banks of Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia,Mauritius, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as two multi-lateral institutions, the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.

Nigeria eyes role as African Islamic banking hub

Nigeria wants to establish itself as the African hub for Islamic banking and is working on a regulatory framework to try to emulate the success of the industry in Malaysia.
Nigeria is home to the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa, with around half of its 150 million people members of the Islamic faith. It is also home to one of Africa's fastest growing consumer and corporate banking sectors.

Malaysia puts pressure on Seoul to allow ‘Sukuk’ transactions

The Malaysian government’s recent encouragement of Korean financial institutions to issue “sukuk” instead of ringgit-denominated bonds is part of the country’s aim to foster a strong Islamic financial hub.
They want to develop an Islamic financial market, so they give tax exemptions for bond holders and sukuk holders here.

Malaysia’s commodity murabaha push still has a way to go

Academics and industry participants in Malaysia are advocating further developments of treasury and money market products, notably via a new exchange initiative. But commodity murabaha structures developed to facilitate liquidity management by banks based on palm oil have attracted criticism from some quarters.
That’s why the Malaysian authorities are pushing ahead with efforts to make the country a world-leading Islamic financial hub. One of its latest initiatives has been to establish interbank money market instruments based on palm oil to satisfy the treasury needs of Islamic financial institutions.

Gulf Investment Corp issues its first local currency sukuk amounting to RM600m

Gulf Investment Corporation GSC Kuwait (GIC) had on Tuesday, March 1 issued its first local currency Sukuk amounting to RM600 million in the Malaysian market.
The GIC stated that this would be its third bond offering in Malaysia.

A new M'sian benchmark for sukuk investments

Referred to as the Bursa Malaysia Sovereign Shariah Index (BMSSI), the new Malaysian ringgit sukuk index was developed with the help of the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (Aibim) and will form part of Bloomberg's Islamic Finance Platform which seeks to leverage on the growing demand for information for syariah-compliant products and services.

Cross-border sukuk on the rise

Cross-border sukuk originations into and out of Malaysia are set to increase as the global sukuk market continues its rebound. Investors are looking for better and more diversified returns, as the Malaysian government’s policy of encouraging government-linked companies (GLCs) and local financial institutions and corporates to increase their cross-border exposure to Islamic capital market instruments start to take effect.

Huge potential for sukuk in Saudi and Gulf market: Al-Jasser

Al-Jasser had earlier delivered a “tour de force” lecture titled “Macroeconomic Management in an Oil Economy: the Case of Saudi Arabia” in the historic Examinations Hall at Oxford University in the presence of Adrian Wood, professor of International Development at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University; Farhan Nizami, director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), and Nazir Tun Abdul Razak, chairman and CEO of Malaysia’s CIMB Bank Group and younger brother of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
The fact that Al-Jasser included Islamic finance as one of four main challenges of managing the Saudi economy going forward is a welcome departure from previous governors of SAMA who dare not speak the name of Islamic banking.

Islamic megabank gets Bahrain, Malaysia approval

A long-touted Islamic megabank has received approval from Bahrain and a preliminary green light from Malaysia to begin operations.
Saudi Arabia's Sheikh Saleh Kamel said the venture is still in discussions with Qatar to obtain a licence.

Retakaful firm Best Re sees growth in Africa, South America

Sharia-compliant reinsurer Best Re will grow its business in Africa and eventually expand into South America to diversify its sources of income which is mainly derived from Asia.
Asia, specifically countries such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia, accounts for three-quarters of Best Re's income and the company wants to bring this share to about 60 percent within five years.

Amanah Raya to help set up Islamic bank in Kazakhstan

Malaysian trustee company Amanah Raya Berhad is joining forces with Fattah Finance and the state-owned Development Bank of Kazakhstan to conduct a feasibility study to establish the second Islamic bank in the CIS country. Their purpose is to submit an application for an Islamic-banking license later this year under new legislation introduced by Kazakhstan in 2009 to facilitate the establishment of Islamic banks and the introduction of Islamic financial products in the country.

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