IslamicFinance.de

KFH Malaysia has made a calling for better awareness among customers on the topic of Islamic banking. Customers should know that Islamic bank is an alternative financial approach but also that, in some aspects, it has better value propositions. The Islamic finance industry has been functioning for 30 years already. With over 300 Islamic financial institutions worldwide in 75 countries, it is a fast growing financial branch where 100 largest Islamic banks register an annual asset growth rate of 26.7%.

Read more on: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/27/islamic-banking-provides-better-...

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) plans to finish a list of Shariah-compliant stocks by next year. This way, it hopes to attract local and foreign Muslim investors. The ideas for next year include an index as well. Working together with National Commission for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), they hope to contribute to the project and have already gathered experts from Shariah-compliant boards to discuss the processes.

Read more on: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/26/12/pse-finish-shariah-complian...

The past year and a half were marked by economic stagnation which has affected numerous businesses. However, some Egyptian Islamic investment banks have a vision on how to act in the new emerging order. For example, Ridge Islamic Capital, has found a niche in the finance sector and intends to capitalize on it. The portfolio of the investment bank includes Sharia-compliant investment banking, asset management and wealth management services. Their target market is, according to experts, primarily for Islamic finance.

Read more on: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/economic-flux-islamic-banking-and-f...

According to data from World Bank, nine out of ten adults in Egypt do not have a bank account because they rarely have excess money to put in and do something with it. With a little number of clients, promoting Shariah- compliant financing is quite problematic. In order to enable the growth and profit of Islamic banking in the nation constituted mostly of Muslims, the Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi neesd to lift the country's economic growth from 2011’s 19-year low of 1.8%. New laws increasing the share of Shariah-compliant deposits from the current 6% and enabling borrowers to sell bonds in accordance with Shariah principles are being prepared by the President.

Read more on: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/egypt-s-savings-vacuum-shows-st...

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas gave its approval to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for selling the latter's stake in the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (Al-Amanah). The approval was issued on 20th of September. The next step is to obtain the approval of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG). After that it will be possible to proceed with the bidding process for its 99.88% stake in the country’s only Islamic bank.

Read more on: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Finance&title=BSP-approv...

The government of Oman chose KPMG to work on recommendations for the amendment to the tax legislation. The amendment aims to accommodate Islamic banking products and services. Thus, Shari'ah-compliant services will not be less favourable compared with conventional products any more.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/oman-commissions-kpmg-recommend-changes-tax-316728

The plans of the Oman government for the near future include an amendment to the current tax legislation. The goal of the amendment is accommodation of Islamic banking products and services as well as the creation of a level playing field with its conventional counterparts. The Ministry of Finance gave KPMG the project of recommendations on amending the tax legislation. Due to the different procedure regarding entering transactions, it is currently possible that the profit becomes liable to tax in the first year. This way, Islamic banks are likely to be considered disadvantageous in comparison with conventional banks.

Read more on: http://www.zawya.com/story/Oman_set_for_changes_in_tax_laws_to_suit_Isla...

Dubai Bank sent a letter to Skycourts unit owners financed by the bank, informing them about their intention of partial fee refund consistent with the principles of Shariah. According to a detailed review of the service fees paid against the financed unit with Dubai Bank, a resolution for additional benefit to Skycourts customers was made. The fee refunded takes into account the period from the moment the bank took the possession of the unit from the developer until the moment when a notice of delivery was sent to the customer by the bank.

Read more on: http://www.zawya.com/story/Dubai_Bank_refunds_overpaid_service_charges_t...

On Saturday, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the National Commercial Bank (NCB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The purpose of the Memorandum is to encourage the export in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. According to the agreement, the signatories are to cooperate on finding solutions for the funding problems of SMEs. The agreement was signed under the auspices of JCCI's Chairman, Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel.

There is enough evidence that corporate governance and other research referred to as "extra-financial" is helpful for performance improvement of investment portfolios. For instance, in June this year Deutsche Bank released an extensive review examining the most recent academic literature regarding the relationship between environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors and investment returns. Some of the most important conclusions were that academic research consistently finds a lower cost of debt and equity capital for companies with better ESG performance characteristics.

Read more on: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b22c49c8-06e8-11e2-92ef-00144feabdc0.html...

Turkish oil refiner Tupras signed a one-year loan of $200 million with nine GCC banks. The deal was arranges by Qatar's QInvest. Further information on the purpose and pricing of the facility was not given. The loan was joined by Barwa Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, First Gulf Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank , Ahli United Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Doha Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank. Citigroup Inc and Deutsche Bank were mandated by Tupras to arrange a series of investor meetings concerning a potential bond issue.

Read more on: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/turkey-tupras-loan-idUKL5E8LL05...

Turkish refining company Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri (Tüpra?) has signed a $200 million, one-year facility with a group of nine banks from the GCC region. The sole bookrunner and structuring advisor was Qatari investment bank QInvest. The list of GCC banks includes Qatar Islamic Bank, Barwa Bank, The Commercial Bank of Qatar and First Gulf Bank. The lead arrangers of the deal are Ahli United Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Doha Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank.

Read more on: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/OGN_224297.html

The Islamic banking division of OSK Investment Bank Bhd (OSKIB) is taking action to unlock value in the Islamic finance realm as well as to address the challenges currently faced in the segment. The Islamic banking segment in Malaysia makes up 18% of of the overall banking sector’s RM1.78 trillion total assets as at the end of last year. The measures of OSKIB include shifting of focus on business development into more Islamic capital market activities.

Read more on: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/22/oskib-aims-to-unlock-value-in-is...

In the search for ways to deal with rising operational costs, Malaysia's Islamic banks are ready for consolidation. While in the past Islamic banks would rather not merge mainly because of resistance from powerful shareholders, now the development of megabanks would enable the issuance ground-breaking products just as conventional banks. This is made possible thanks to the rapid growth of Islamic finance - 23.7% of Malaysia's total banking assets belongs to the Islamic financial sector.

Read more on: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/519665

A further Sharia-compliant product for corporate customers was recently launched by Barclays bank. It is called La Riba Asset Finance and serves customers to buy assets locally as well as internationally. The product is meant for Muslim clients.

Read more on: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-91394/bank-unveils-sharia-product

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) shows high performance with a net profit of QR1.13bn in the first nine months of 2012. This is an increase of 2% compared to the same period last year. In September this year, QIB's total assets were at QR66.8bn - an increase of 26.7% since last year. The reason for the continuous asset growth are the financing activities, which have risen 42% from QR11.3bn in the first nine months of 2011 to QR38.1bn this year.

Read more on: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=538014...

Without causing much noise, liquidity-rich Arab banks have been taking part in commodity trade finance - an area which, until recently, was dominated by a small number of French banks. While the market share of eurozone banks has decreased from 80% two years ago to 50% today, banks from the Gulf region become more and more present. The lending limitations of the eurozone banks is caused by constrained US dollar liquidity.

Read more on: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d775f476-144a-11e2-8cf2-00144feabdc0.html...

Turkish Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank has signed an Islamic finance deal of $450 million. Several major international banks took part in the deal. The facility includes 32 banks from 16 countries around the world, among which Standard Chartered Bank, Noor Islamic Bank, ABC Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD. The mandated lead arrangers were Bank Islam Brunei Berhad Darussalam and Al Hilal Bank.

Until recently, sharia-compliant deals in Azerbaijan had to be conducted secretly, hidden under the appearance of conventional banking. Now, on the other hand, there are a couple of banks which openly offer a limited range of services compliant with Islamic principles. These include bans on interest and pure monetary speculation. However, the government still has not created a law in order to regulate the Islamic financial industry in the country. Such a law would enable expansion of operations of commercial banks and allow sukuk issuance.

Tunisia's ruling party has set to turning Tunisia into a regional centre for Sharia-compliant finance. However, critics claim that by putting scarce resources into the sector the economy could be harmed. People suspect that the leading motives of the governments initiatives are political rather than economic and that they mostly endeavour to win the support of voters. Even though change in policy might benefit the economy of Northern African countries after the Arab Spring by enabling access to a huge pool of Islamic investment funds from the Gulf, Tunisia faces serious political complications.