IslamicFinance.de

Taking into consideration the increasingly shaped by a company’s reputation and impact on the environment consumers choise, the need to adopt sustainable business practices is more important than ever.
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Sustainability Network has the goal to advance corporate social responsibility, or CSR, across the UAE by bringing together top business executives to network, share experience and demonstrate CSR leadership.
The pressure to act is coming from stakeholders, employees, customers, governments, investors, the media, and society in general.

Kuwait's Investment Dar is aranged to pay some KD82m ($298.7m) to individuals and small non-financial institutions in the first year of its debt restructuring plan. The repayments will start on June 30.

Although regulators lag behind in customizing laws for the industry, russian borrowers are pitching plans to sell the nation's first Islamic bonds.
Executives from Gazprombank are now in Southeast Asia to look for support for issuance by as many as five companies. The statement was given by Alexander Kazakov, director of structured and syndicated finance at the bank.

The Algosaibi family has pulled out of a court case in London with five international banks. The banks that were battling were: Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), ABC Islamic Bank, British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB), Credit Agricole and HSBC.
The case was expected to last for at least two months and has been waiting since two banks in Bahrain collapsed in 2009.

It seems that inspite the fact that London is retaining its top spot as the leading global financial center in 2011, European frontrunners are being challenged by fast developing nations in the Middle East.
Of the four Middle Eastern centers in the GFCI, Dubai has maintained a lead since the index first began in 2007. Qatar is only 8 points behind Dubai having been 135 points behind in the second GFCI in 2007.
The latest GFCI shows that Bahrain and Riyadh are still way behind two Middle Eastern leaders Dubai and Qatar.

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) revealed that between September and December 2010, 30 Islamic investment and financial cooperatives (IIFCs) in Afghanistan distributed loans worth USD 7.4 million to approximately 8,000 farmers and other small and medium-scale business owners, increasing cooperative membership by 10 %.
WOCCU began developing IIFCs, Afghan-owned credit unions, in 2004.

Investors have been closely watching Dubai's move ver since Dubai World defaulted on that grim Eid weekend of November 25, 2009.
Dubai World has made up with its creditors and put into place a robust debt plan. Although it makes obvious changes, the markets have not forgiven Dubai.
According to CMA Datavision, Dubai remained among the 10 most likely countries (or city states) to default.

The London-based European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB) is now focusing on the Islamic markets of the Middle East and Asia, changing the strategy used until now.
Part of the strategy is to relocate some of its key personnel from its London office to its representative office in Bahrain.

It appears that after only four months after Qatar's controversial order for conventional banks to close their Islamic units, the decision may be proving less positive than expected for purely Islamic lenders.
The main problem is the fact that many customers remain unconvinced of the advantages of moving away from deposit accounts managed by non-Islamic institutions and are instead staying loyal to conventional lenders.

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.

Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz is the first female central banker in Asia, being a key player in the global development of Islamic finance for more than a decade.
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Doctor Zeti Akhtar Aziz is Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia. She was reappointed Governor for a further five year term beginning with 1 May 2011 by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

HSBC is searching for mandates for Islamic bond issuance in 2011 that are above pre-crisis levels, with at least one more sukuk expected to come to market before mid-July.
Mohammed Dawood, managing director of global capital financing at HSBC, stated that debt capital markets have experienced a comeback in recent months, as the cost of borrowing came down and liquidity levels for Islamic bonds reached the highest level they have seen been in four or five years.

Family Takaful Summit Malaysia will be held on June 23 and 24 in Malaysia. Over 500 takaful operators and agents would come together to discuss the growth potential for takaful in Malaysia and identify unique opportunities for players in the family takaful market.
Family takaful grew 28% annually over the last five years and now represents more than 80% of Malaysia's total takaful market.

A seminar was organized by Al-Huda Centre of Islamic Banking & Economics (CIBE) and AKHUWAT in order to come up with a plan of poverty alleviation on national and international scale to lessen poverty, social welfare and to tackle other problems pertaining to it.
Delegates from Malaysia, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Mauritius and other countries participated in the event who spoke on various topics of Islamic microfinance i.e. methodology of poverty reduction, Zakat, Shariah implications, Dard-e-Hasna, Waqf models, latest trends of Islamic microfinance, technological application of poverty alleviation and usage of Islamic microfinance in non muslim societies.

Although his attempt of courting Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd failed, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd has still the strong desire to merge with a rival to build a mega Islamic bank.
The bank, however, is not in talks with any party currently.

Maybank Islamic, Asia-Pacific's largest syariah lender, is going to expand its business in the Asean region and may offer Islamic stockbroking services through Singapore stockbroker Kim Eng, which its parent recently acquired.
The bank's parent Maybank is embarking on an expansion drive to become a regional bank. It operates in 14 countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bahrain.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Assistant General Manager (AGM) for Finance Sector Emad Al-Thaqeb stated Islamic banking institutions, including KFH have experience in financing major local and overseas developmental projects. Furthermore, they have strong financial coverage that allows them to meet the financing requirements for the Kuwaiti development plan.
Al-Thaqeb mentioned that the Central Bank of Kuwait took into consideration the requirements of this phase by recommending an increase in the margin of loans in return for deposits at local banks that ranges from 85-100 %.

Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd launched the Alliance Family Takaful Investment-Linked Plan.
In a statement tha bnak announced that this product launch is a collaboration between Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd with Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, and FWU Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of German-based financial services provider, FWU Group.

Ayman A. Khaleq is the new managing partner of the international law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP's Middle East offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh.
Khaleq’s practice focuses on structured finance and debt capital markets transactions with a particular emphasis on the structuring and documentation of Islamic finance and investment products.

Gulf Arab states is planing to have a single Shariah board for the region’s Islamic financial institutions in five to 10 years. A “supreme Shariah council” will help reduce the cost of issuing sukuk and boost Islamic services offered by financial institutions that comply with the religion’s ban on interest.
Hussain Hamed Hassan, head of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB)’s Shariah committee, criticized central banks for treating Shariah- compliant financial institutions as if they were non-Islamic companies. He added that only a few central banks were exceptions, including those in Bahrain and Sudan.