IslamicFinance.de

- To ensure the day to day processing of Vanilla and Complex Islamic transactions are performed in accordance with written procedures.

- To process Treasury Securities business and to rotate functions on a regular basis in order to ensure continued proficiency in each task.

- Interact with Front, Middle and Back Offices across various Business lines in the Bank to ensure accurate trade capture and settlement.

- Build & maintain Islamic Confirmation Templates from Client & Broker Master Agreements across all Islamic business lines

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According to a report by Kuwait Finance House (KFH), over a period of five years Hong Kong managed to establish Islamic Shariah compliant organizations, authorities, products and services. There is high potential for Islamic banking in Hong Kong due to Hong Kong's high liquidity, free economy, strong presence of foreign banks and simple taxes' system. Thus, it is a great candidate to become a major Islamic financial hub.

Job Requirements:
University Degree, 3-5 years of experience within a Relevant field, Fixed Income Derivatives Experience (Islamic Finance Exp is preferred), Experience w/ Calypso, Kondor+, Murex,Summit, Swift Alliance,Euclid, Crest and Citidirect is preferred.
Salary of up to $50k monthly and additional benefits coverage.

Interested candidates please send CV or call Rhythy Yeung at 3653-1010

The government of Hong Kong released the conclusions of a consultation which ended in May 2012. Thus, a taxation framework for Islamic bonds is provided on a par with that for conventional bonds. The promotion of Islamic finance development in Hong Kong has been taken into consideration. Due to Hong Kong's leading role as an international financial centre and China's global financial centre, Hong Kong is able to match the needs of fund raisers and investment demands of investors among China, the Middle East and other parts of the world interested in Islamic financial products. The legislative amendments released are expected to contribute to anchoring more asset management activities in Hong Kong.

Read more on: http://www.tax-news.com/news/Hong_Kong_Releases_Consultation_Conclusions...

Mr. John Robertson Wright was appointed Non-Executive Director of EIIB by the Board of EIIB.
Mr. Wright is a career Banker with important experience in UK and international markets including assignments in India, Sri Lanka, West Africa, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States. Before this appointment he was Chief Executive of Oman International Bank for 7 years, Chief Executive of the Northern and National Irish Banks in Ireland for 5 years, Chief Executive of the Gulf Bank in Kuwait and finally Chief Executive of Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks prior to retirement.

It seems that Hong Kong’s government plans to go ahead with moves to transform the city into a “vibrant” centre for Islamic finance.
The government was currently working on legislation to make a level playing field for Sukuk and conventional bonds in Hong Kong, in terms of tax liabilities. Its purpose is to begin a second round of consultation with major market players on its proposals during the first quarter of next year.

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 HSBC Middle East is going to meet investors in Asia and Europe for a potential sukuk issue. The meetings will take place in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and London.

In the oppinion of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and EFG-Hermes UAE Ltd, Abu Dhabi may find it cheaper to borrow with Islamic bonds than non-Sharia compliant securities.
Abu Dhabi government officials will meet fixed-income investors in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. Standard Chartered is arranging the meetings and the sit-downs with investors aren't related to an immediate transaction.

Axis Global Islamic REIT is in talks with potential cornerstone investors and will aim to raise around US$700m from a Malaysian IPO in the second quarter. The original plan was to include assets from Japan, Australia and Hong Kong., but this may change as a result of last week’s earthquake and tsunami. CIMB and Standard Chartered are joint global co-ordinators, with Credit Suisse and Maybank as joint bookrunners.

Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP confirms that Dubai-based partner and Global Head of Islamic Finance, Neil D Miller will be retiring from the practice on 2 April 2011.
Neil will be joining one of the big four professional services firms in Dubai, where he will lead the establishment of a global Islamic financial advisory business.
Norton Rose Group’s award winning global Islamic practice will be led by three partners who will act as regional heads. Mohammed Paracha, based in Bahrain, will be responsible for the Middle East and Africa, Farmida Bi in London for Europe and Davide Barzilai in Hong Kong for Asia Pacific.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. Its capital city is Jakarta, which is located on the island of Java. Since the majority of the population of Indonesia are Muslims, Indonesia can be considered the largest Islamic state in the world in terms of population. The Indonesian economy is classified as a developing economy, and is known as a "Tiger Cub Economy".
This is a reference to the more economically advanced "Asian Tiger Economies" that include Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Many jurisdictions are interested in Islamic finance and have taken initiatives to develop the industry through reviewing their legal framework to facilitate the introduction of a range of Islamic financial products, including more recently France, Ireland, Australia, Jordan, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Lebanon.
One of the key determinants for the successful development of Islamic finance in any jurisdiction is the existence of a conducive legal framework that supports the operations and growth of the industry.

In order to strengthen its relations with the Middle East and India, Jersey Finance wants to open a new overseas office.
The plan is to succeed this in the first quarter of 2011.
The organisation has two other overseas offices, in London and Hong Kong.
HSBC Middle East is regulated on Jersey, while Emirates NBD, the National Bank of Kuwait and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi all run elements of business on the island

Until recently the issuance of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, was confined to the Muslim world. But now a number of international borrowers are tapping the markets, including Nomura Holdings in Japan and Europe's first corporate borrower, International Innovative Technologies.
The ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s say they expect to see a rise in the number of sukuk issues by new players over the next 12 months, including issues by borrowers in Singapore, Australia, Luxembourg, Thailand, Hong Kong, France and Russia.
While the Islamic Financial Service Board and the accounting and auditing organization have defined standards for sukuk, defaults over the past year have shown that new guidelines must be set as problems arise, particularly as sukuk start to generate global attention.

With the Islamic finance industry worth an estimated $1 trillion and growing rapidly, it is perhaps no surprise that a number of Asia-Pacific nations are among a growing band of countries worldwide to signal their intention to carve out a larger share of the market.
Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, along with Hong Kong, have set their sights on becoming hubs for Islamic finance, where investments are made according to Islamic principles.
While their sectors may be at varying stages of development, they are facing a common predicament: a shortage of professionals skilled in Islamic finance.
Education institutions around the Asia-Pacific region, like their counterparts in the Middle East and Europe, are increasingly seeking to fill that gap by adding Islamic finance specialization to their master’s programs in business administration and elsewhere.

HSBC has received approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to sell Sukuk (Islamic Bonds) in Hong Kong, the first local bank in the territory to do so.

Bruno Lee is head of liabilities business and wealth management.

Mushtak Parker writes in Arab News on 23 February that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is finalizing new tax laws which would facilitate the introduction of Islamic finance on a par with equivalent conventional products, and there is a strong possibility that the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) will issue the debut quasi-sovereign Sukuk from the island enclave during 2009.

However, Hong Kong is concerned about the effect on Islamic finance of the credit crunch and the global financial crisis, since no economy, including those in the Middle East and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, have gone untouched. Thus it seems unavoidable that Islamic finance will slow its pace of development in the near term, "alongside growing downside risks in the global financial scene."

Deal Journal reported on 10 April about potential ambitions of Hong Kong based corporations to issue Sukuk. Those companies cited include the Airport Authority Hong Kong, which is wholly government-owned. The Chinese newspaper Mingpao is cited that the other firms are rail operator MTR Corp. and Hong Kong Mortgage Corp.

MTR denied it is planning an Islamic bond issue.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/04/10/hong-kong-considers-islamic-bonds/

Rita Raagas De Ramos reported in Asian Investor on 7 April about the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) calling for mutual cooperation on capacity building and human capital development in Islamic finance, as well as the promotion and development of their respective Islamic capital market segments; both parties will examine the possibility of establishing a framework for the mutual recognition of their regulatory regimes on Islamic funds to facilitate cross-border marketing and distribution of such funds.

The MOU for cooperation on Islamic finance and capacity building was signed by Hong Kong SFC CEO Martin Wheatley and the DFSA CEO David Knott.

Source: http://www.asianinvestor.net/article.aspx?CIaNID=73222