IslamicFinance.de

A company official stated that Malaysia's stock exchange operator has the purpose to double the daily average trades on its murabaha platform from 1 billion ringgit ($313 million) next year as it develops its Islamic finance products in overseas markets.
One of the key challenges to the emerging Islamic finance industry is the lack of liquidity tools. The sharia banks being held back partly because of the limited range of products they can invest in.
Bursa Malaysia will develop its business in Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. The statement was given by Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman, the exchange's Islamic markets' acting global head.

Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Second Finance Minister, stated that Islamic finance practitioners should explore joint ventures and synergistic collaboration with formed global brands in private equity and asset management industries.
Furthermore, his oppinion is that this would be the most efficient way to evolve as local players have significant value proposition to develop such alliances attractive to their foreign counterparts.
Private equity, worldwide, has raised US$184 billion via Islamic financing, until this point.

Islamic banks in the country Malaysia have been encouraged to present more short-term syariah-compliant products in order to attract foreign investors.
Dr Mohd Daud Bakar, Amanie Islamic Finance Consultancy and Education LLC managing director, stated that they always have investors in Malaysia looking for syariah-shariah compliant products.
He added that liquidity is not a problem in Malaysia because they have many products that can absorb the liquidity in the Islamic financial intuitions.

Maybank Islamic Bhd anticipates its contribution from asset financing to the Maybank Group in the current financial year to be consistent with the previous year.
At this point 27 per cent of Maybank Group's total loan and advances come from Islamic banking.

Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, Deputy Finance Minister, stated that several strategies must be taken in order to strengthen Malaysia's position as an international Islamic financial centre. He added that Islamic scholars should spread their horizon and not limit themselves to one field of knowledge.
His oppinion is that the establishment of research institutions that promotes the development of Syariah principles was still having issues in the move to obtain the desired objectives.

In late 2012, Bursa Malaysia will advocate the launch of an ESG Index. Similarly, Hong Kong and Singapore stock exchanges have taken on their own action to guarantee that both government and corporations step up in their social responsibility to build a more sustainable future.
Key leaders from various industries will come together at this year's CSR Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 27 and 28 September to discuss CSR developments across four themes: Asian CSR strategies; environmental issues; community investment; and, sustainable supply chains and food security.

It seems that Khazanah Nasional Bhd. hired BOC International, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Royal Bank for a sale of the world's first yuan-denominated Islamic bonds in Hong Kong.
The offering will help Malaysia maintain its strengt and position as the world's biggest launcher of sukuk.

Khazanah Nasional is planning to launch renminbi-denominated sukuk, making it the first-ever Islamic financing in Hong Kong’s booming Dim Sum market.
It seems that Khazanah's target is 500 million renminbi (US$77.5mil) with a tenor of five years, although a three-year piece was also in discussion.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. applied for an Islamic banking permit in Malaysia.
The bank is beginning the business with 61 bankers in Kuala Lumpur and wants to hire more as the operation expands. The statement came from Keizo Ohashi, chairman of the subsidiary.
Malaysia is giving out nine financial services licenses to overseas companies as it tries to boost banking industry competition amid record economic gains.

It appears that Axis Global Islamic REIT posponed its initial share sale aspiring at raising up to $650 million due to adverse market conditions.
The Shariah-compliant industrial real estate investment trust was targeting a mid-August listing, after it posponed an earlier-planned July debut on Malaysia's stock exchange.
One of the people familiar with the matter stated that the delay is because they want to see what happens in the U.S.

The deputy governor of Bank Negara , Datuk Mohd Razif Abd Kadir, passed away at the age of 58 with his family members and friends by his bedside.
Razif joined Bank Negara in 1976 and had several senior positions in the central bank throughout his career.
Razif was also the first chairman of the technical committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board and on the board of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance and the board of Bank Negara.

Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has gathered 750 million Malaysian ringgit (255 million US dollars) by selling five-year Islamic bonds at 4.90 percent.
The Sukuk, which is part of a 3.5 billion ringgit funding program set up earlier, will be launched on Wednesday to about a dozen investors.
This statement came from a source familiar with the deal, who prefers to remain unidentified as the deal has not been made yet.

Danajamin Nasional Bhd has made a guarantee to Senari Synergy Sdn Bhd’s RM380mil 20-year Islamic medium-term notes programme.
Danajamin chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn stated that Senari was the first company in Sarawak to be given its financial guarantee.

Although sales have doubled this year, it seems that global Islamic bonds are approaching record lows. Yields dropped for a fifth month to an average 3.66 per cent on July 29.
PT Danareksa Investment Management and Franklin Templeton Investment Management Ltd stated that Asia and the Middle East will keep attracting foreign investment as economic growth outpaces that in developed markets this year. As oil prices are being kept above the five-year average, demand for sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations after Dubai World and Nakheel PJSC restructured debt is more an more.

Maybank Islamic (MI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM), Indonesia, to set up cross border collaboration in all Islamic treasury and trade finance matters.
This collaboration is going to set the terms of cooperation between the two institutions in relation to enhancing cross-border liquidity flows and, as well as, increasing and diversifying the application of Islamic financial solutions.

Public Mutual wil launch two new Islamic funds, Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund (PITGF) and Public Sukuk Fund (PSKF) on 19 July 2011.
The first one is an Islamic equity fund that wants to achieve capital growth over the medium- to long-term period by investing primarily in small and medium sized companies, which comply with Shariah principles.
PSKF on the other hand is an Islamic bond fund that has as purpose to provide annual income through investments in sukuk and Islamic money market instruments.

Cagamas Berhad (Cagamas) revealed the launch of 1, 2 and 3 year Cagamas Sukuk Commodity Murabahah amounting to RM1 billion.
The sukuk are unsecured obligations of the Company.

Danajamin Nasional Bhd has given Antara Steel Mill Sdn Bhd’s RM300mil 7-year Islamic Securities guarantee, to assist Antara in obtaining long term financing via the sukuk market. AmBank is also participating in the transaction to provide short term working capital financing.

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) plans to issue up to RM15 billion in Islamic debt notes.
RAM Rating Services Bhd revealed that SEB had proposed the Sukuk Musyarakah programme of up to RM15 billion. RAM Ratings said SEB’s generating capacity is set to triple within a relatively short time.

Elaf Bank has been given a license by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia to open a branch office in Malaysia. The license was handed during a formal ceremony held at Bank Negara Malaysia.
The bank wants to start its branch office operations in Kuala Lumpur immediately, now that it has fulfilled the formalities required for obtaining the license.