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Speaking at the World Islamic Finance Forum, Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar suggested investing in research in order to Islamise the whole economic system of the country. He said Islamic finance industry leaders should play an active role in promoting the industry. At the same time, the leaders should not remain complacent with the traditional model, but should help the finance industry evolve and innovate products based on Shariah compliance. Dar said economic growth in Pakistan had crossed 4% and had remained steady at 5% this year. This growth rate is expected to accelerate to 7% in fiscal year 2017-18. Later referring to a BBC report, he said Pakistan would become the 18th largest economy of the world by 2050 from the current 44th position.

The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Thomson Reuters and the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) launched the Pakistan Islamic Finance Report titled "Innovation at Asia’s Crossroads". The ceremony, which took place in Karachi, was attended by senior government officials, market executives and industry professionals. The report highlights that the Islamic capital market sector registered a double-digit growth rate in the past decade, recorded mostly by Islamic mutual funds. In all Islamic finance industry segments, finance professionals and investors maintain a positive economic outlook, and Islamic finance institutions have built strong fundamentals.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said it will work with the government to introduce interest-free banking, as part of its efforts to improve financial inclusion. The RBI’s proposal paves the way for introduction of Islamic finance in India. In March 2015, State Bank of India (SBI) deferred the launch of a Shariah-compliant equity mutual fund at the last moment. SBI maintained that the decision was a commercial call, but there was speculation that the decision had to do with political pressure. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is among the most vocal critics of Islamic finance, arguing that it could encourage religious conversion and also open channels for terrorist organisations to channel money into India.

Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd (ABPL) and Burj Bank Ltd (BBL) will soon merge into a single Islamic Bank in Pakistan under the name Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. Al Baraka Islamic Bank-Bahrain will remain major shareholder subsequent to this merger. All 74 BBL branches will be converted into ABPL branches and the combined network of the merged entity will become 224 branches in over 100 cities across Pakistan. The total asset base of ABPL will cross US$ 1.1 billion. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of ABPL said the amalgamated entity would be in a position to offer varied financial products and services.

State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmed said that there is a dire need to create awareness to promote Islamic banking. According to the Global Islamic Finance Report (GIFR) 2016, Pakistan ranks ninth in terms of development of Islamic financial services industry. However, there is still a capacity of 40 million more people in the banking market that the Islamic finance sector can explore. In June the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) noted that the Islamic banking industry had witnessed a growth of 7.4% in April to June quarter. Its assets reached Rs 1,745 billion while its deposits also increased by 9.3%. This shows a market capitalisation of 13.2%. There is still room to grow and the Islamic financing institutions can increase their operations and market shares.

India's central bank has proposed working with the government to introduce interest-free banking. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made the proposal last week, as departing central bank governor Raghuram Rajan hands over the reins to Urjit Patel. Development of Islamic finance has been slow in India because of strong opposition from bureaucrats and politicians from the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. An estimated 180 million Muslims have been unable to access Islamic banking because of laws that require banking to be based on interest. The RBI said it would explore introducing interest-free banking products in consultation with the government, a key detail as this opens the prospects of supportive legislation.

In #Pakistan Al-Ameen Funds hosted an awareness session on Shariah Compliant Investment. The meeting was organised by Al-Ameen Funds and UBL Fund Managers in collaboration with Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX). Speakers agreed that the Islamic Funds Industry has shown impressive growth in recent years. Yasir Qadri, CEO of UBL Funds said that the local investors are more aware about the equity market than ever before. However, Islamic funds offer opportunities of investment for a vast audience which is yet to be tapped. Shahid Gul Motiwala, CEO Al-Ameen Islamic Financial Services said that there is a lot of awareness required in Pakistan regarding the benefits of making sound investment choices.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will take part in financing of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline's construction.

Al Baraka Bank has finished due diligence for the proposed merger of Burj Bank. Abid Qamar, chief spokesman at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said Al Baraka was given permission for due diligence of Burj Bank and they have completed the process. Summit Bank and Bank of Khyber were also interested in Burj Bank, but they did not carry out any due diligence process. The deal is expected to be completed within next three months, but the complete integration of both entities would take six to eight months. The potential deal would be a part of the significant efforts, currently being made by the SBP, to fix the problem of the small banks that fell below the minimum capital adequacy ratio requirement and minimum paid-up capital requirement.

A 2% tax cut announced for all Shariah-compliant companies is bound to give a big boost to Islamic Banking in Pakistan. The government has introduced the 2% rebate for Shariah-compliant companies through the Finance Act 2016. The Finance Act also covers the entire national budget for the fiscal year 2017. The latest decision to expand the programme followed a report by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which confirmed a continuing spread of the Islamic banking system in the country. Islamic banks currently have a 13% share of the conventional banking in Pakistan.

In #Pakistan the Ministry of Finance stated that amendments in legal framework are under review to strengthen the framework of taxation proposals for Islamic Banking. The initiatives mainly include review of Mudaraba guidelines to align those with overall regulatory framework of Islamic Finance, issuance of Sukuk guidelines, issuance of Takaful rules and government Ijara Sukuk. A multi-tiered Shariah supervisory and compliance framework has been put in place. Also, a Shariah governance framework for Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) was formulated, which explicitly defines Shariah related rules and responsibilities of all key organs of IBIs. The initial Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) for an Islamic Banking subsidiary was revised from Rs 10 billion to Rs 6 billion.

The AL-Baraka Bank Pakistan (ABPL) has decided to purchase the Burj Bank Pakistan. The ABPL bank will purchase the Burj Bank through swap Ratio of 1 share of ABPL for every 1.7 shares of Burj Bank for shareholders of Burj Bank, while its face value will be Rs 10 each in the ABPL for every 1.7 shares of Burj Bank. The ABPL will finalise this merger on August 22. In April this year, the ABPL was allowed due-diligence of the Burj Bank for the amalgamation of two of the smaller entities in Pakistan’s banking industry. The two banks deal in Islamic products only.

Silkbank introduced Emaan Islamic Banking (EIB) through conversion of its seven conventional banking branches into dedicated Islamic Banking branches. Emaan Islamic Banking offers a complete suite of deposit products including Current Account, Saving Accounts and Term Deposits. Diminishing Musharaka, Musawamah, Murabaha, Musharaka and Trade Finance facilities are also available. The Emaan Islamic Banking’s branch network stands at a total of 10 branches in 8 cities across Pakistan.

The Steering Committee of Sitara Chemicals received laudation for the promotion of Islamic Banking in #Pakistan. The Committee was headed by Mr Saeed Ahmed, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan. Sitara Chemicals has shared with Islamic debt investors its profits without comprising on true Musharakah principles. This fact is evident from the level of rate of return offered by the Company on its earlier Islamic debt issues. In 2012 Sitara Chemicals signed an agreement for design and procurement of Coal Based Power Plant having Capacity of 38.5 MW. Total Project cost was estimated at Rs 3.1 billion and Diminishing Musharika Facility Rs 2 billion from syndication of renowned Islamic Banks of Pakistan. In July 2016, this project has been commissioned and trial production has started. First instalment of this facility has been repaid as per its planned schedule.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad expressed reservations over the Islamic Development Bank’s plan to open its branch in India. VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain is currently attending a two-day meeting in Ahmedabad to discuss various issues. He said they will also deliberate on the strategy to oppose the opening of the new branch. Although IDB recently announced that it will open its first Indian branch in Ahmedabad, VHP insists that such banks are against the Constitution and banking norms set by RBI.

In #Pakistan Faisal Private Bureau (FPB) has transferred its entire shareholding in Faysal Bank Limited (FYBL) to Ithmaar Bank. On June 30 FPB has transferred over 38.686 million of its stakes in Faisal Bank into Ithmaar's CDC account. However, FYBL secretary Aurangzeb Amin said the transaction had no affect in terms of change of ownership. He also added that the State Bank of Pakistan had already granted its approval for transfer of shares to Ithmaar Bank on April 29, 2016.

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has felicitated Wapda and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the Rs 100 billion agreement of 16 banks under Shariah compliant facility for Neelum Jehlum Hydro Power (NJHP) project. There was a long delay and the cost of project escalated up to Rs 414 billion from initial estimates Rs 84 billion. PIAF chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that now a ray of hope appeared for the completion of the project. He said this is the biggest ever funds mobilisation for a public sector entity in which 16 local banks participated. The issuance of Sukuk worth Rs 100 billion for NJHP would go a long way in arranging funds for other hydropower projects.

The controversial sale of the Kasb Bank to Bank Islami has been challenged before the Islamabad High Court. The petition was filed by Mohammad Khalid Randhawa, a shareholder of the Kasb bank, who claims that Kasb Bank was sold to the Bank Islami for only Rs1,000. He was praying before the court to declare the sale illegal. Judge Aamer Farooq made documents related to the inquiry of the deal as part of judicial record and adjourned the case.

Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company (Pvt) Limited has entered into a financing agreement amounting to Rs 100 bn with a consortium of 16 banks led by National Bank of Pakistan for raising funds through one of the largest Shariah-compliant facility. The financing is based on Diminishing Musharika structured by NBP Aitemaad. The Sukuk is structured with a tenor of 10 years and is backed by the sovereign guarantee from Government of Pakistan.

NJHPC mandated National Bank of Pakistan to act as Mandated Lead Arranger for arrangement of up to Rs 100 billion through issuance of rated, secured and privately placed Sukuks to partially finance the construction of strategically important 969 MW hydel power project located in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir. For this financing, a signing ceremony was held on Wednesday here and attended by President & CEO NBP Syed Iqbal Ashraf, Chairman Wapda Zafar Mahmood, member finance Wapda Anwaar ul Haq, CEO NJHPCL Lieutenant General Muhammad Zubair and other presidents and senior officials of all the 16 participating financial institutions.

A few weeks ago we saw the launch of a Sharia-compliant mobile phone-based loan service. The new service, called Trust Network Finance was rolled out by Allianz in Indonesia. TNF reflects the big opportunities in Indonesia for mobile money and for Sharia-compliant services.
Although roughly 60% of Indonesians have a mobile phone, only 3% of the population is reportedly aware of mobile money. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, and Sharia-compliant finance has grown over the past few decades in the country; however by the end of 2016 Islamic financial institutions in Indonesia are only expected to hold 5% of the nation’s total banking assets.
Of the country’s roughly 250 million citizens, 60% are unbanked. It’s estimated that there are 50 million MSMEs in Indonesia, which make up about 97% of the country’s enterprises.