IslamicFinance.de

Tadhamon International Islamic Bank is planning o buy as much as 7 billion rials ($33 million) of sukuk when the government sells the debt this month.
The government is expected to offer 25 billion rials of sukuk in the first portion of a planned 100 billion-rial note program.

Cross-border sukuk originations into and out of Malaysia are set to increase as the global sukuk market continues its rebound. Investors are looking for better and more diversified returns, as the Malaysian government’s policy of encouraging government-linked companies (GLCs) and local financial institutions and corporates to increase their cross-border exposure to Islamic capital market instruments start to take effect.

Al-Jasser had earlier delivered a “tour de force” lecture titled “Macroeconomic Management in an Oil Economy: the Case of Saudi Arabia” in the historic Examinations Hall at Oxford University in the presence of Adrian Wood, professor of International Development at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University; Farhan Nizami, director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), and Nazir Tun Abdul Razak, chairman and CEO of Malaysia’s CIMB Bank Group and younger brother of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
The fact that Al-Jasser included Islamic finance as one of four main challenges of managing the Saudi economy going forward is a welcome departure from previous governors of SAMA who dare not speak the name of Islamic banking.

The Chief Executive Officer of First Finance Company agrees with the Qatar Central Bank to impose greater regulation on conventional banks offering Islamic services over concerns that "unhealthy competition could lead to over-aggressive practices".
Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, who is also Vice Chairman of IFS consultancy Bait Al Mushara, told Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm, that the constraints of Qatar's market also highlighted the likelihood of consolidation within the sector.

An Islamic finance research body backed by Bank Negara is drafting rules to regulate the use of derivatives to strengthen the industry's risk management framework and repair the perception of poor syariah compliance among banks.
The International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance's (ISRA) rules would prescribe the boundaries that syariah banks have to observe to ensure that the usage of derivatives complies with Islam's ban on gambling.

A long-touted Islamic megabank has received approval from Bahrain and a preliminary green light from Malaysia to begin operations.
Saudi Arabia's Sheikh Saleh Kamel said the venture is still in discussions with Qatar to obtain a licence.

Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has launched a 500 million ringgit (164 million US dollar) Sukuk issue in Malaysia as part of an existing funding program, one of a growing number of Middle East issuers to seek alternative sources of funding.
GIC, which was set up to drive private enterprise and economic growth in the Gulf region, had earlier established a 3.5 billion ringgit Sukuk program in the Southeast Asian country.

South Korea will renew its push to allow tax exemptions on Islamic bonds issued by companies to help local borrowers tap growing Muslim wealth.
The government’s “top priority” at a parliament session starting on Feb. 18 will be to pass a bill on Islamic bonds and another to impose a levy on banks’ foreign-currency debt.

Islamic home-finance provider Tamweel PJSC, based in Dubai, announced on Sunday that it swung back into the black in 2010, posting a modest net profit of 7.08 million dollars.
The figure represents a "turnaround" from Tamweel's financial performance in 2009, when it posted a net loss of 14.8 million dollars.

Japan has included tax reforms and regulatory measures for Islamic finance, as part of the country’s financial strategy, which is one of seven key components of the government’s “new growth strategy — blueprint for revitalizing Japan.
Malaysian Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) under the program are required to increase their investments through Islamic finance structures and to venture cross-border with the aim of developing a diversified and enhanced returns strategy.
Islamic finance facilitation, albeit a niche objective, fits in with Japan’s new growth strategy in other ways as well.

BI (Bank Indonesia) has also secured approval from the House of Representatives to join the newly established International Islamic Liquidity Management .
This is to attempt to grow the country's Islamic banking sector.

The Ugandan central bank is currently struggling to address demands for the first sharia bank in the East African country.
Bank of Uganda, the republic’s central bank, has therefore sent delegates to Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, to learn more about Islamic finance.

Sharia-compliant reinsurer Best Re will grow its business in Africa and eventually expand into South America to diversify its sources of income which is mainly derived from Asia.
Asia, specifically countries such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia, accounts for three-quarters of Best Re's income and the company wants to bring this share to about 60 percent within five years.

Islamic bonds from the Arabian Gulf may extend last week’s rally as the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak bolstered investor confidence that turmoil in the Arab’s world’s most populous nation will subside.
The yield on Dubai’s 6.396 percent sukuk due November 2014 declined 25 basis points last week to 6.28 percent on Feb. 11.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) said on Sunday its net profit in 2010 dropped 10.7 percent, despite a rising asset base.
In 2009, the bank's profit dived 24 percent due to the global financial crisis.

Saudi Electricity Company has invited banks for a potential bond mandate, reported IFR Markets.
A request for proposals (RFP) has been sent to a limited number of local banks and international institutions with operations in Saudi Arabia, and replies are due by the end of February.

The Qatar central bank appears to see higher risks from conventional lenders operating Islamic units, clarifying a recent ruling which asked commercial banks in the Gulf state to close their sharia-compliant operations. Qatar's central bank earlier in the week asked conventional lenders to close down their Islamic operations amid worries of overlap between the two, in a surprise move that boosted shares of Islamic lenders in the country.

Qatar Central Bank surprised commercial lenders by stipulating that they shut down their Islamic finance activities by year end, affecting banking strategies. The move leaves unanswered questions and big strategic worries for the big Western banks with a presence in the region.
Although the infrastructure around the provision of Islamic finance is onerous, the rewards are great for banks.

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced the appointment of Kuwait Investment Co (KIC) to assist the Islamic lender with the recapitalization and raising up to $500m program through a convertible Murabaha as part of the restructuring plan agreed to by shareholders.

The Bank of London and The Middle East has been granted a licence by the Central Bank of Bahrain to open an office in the kingdom. The bank is a Financial Services Authority authorised independent wholesale Sharia-compliant bank based in London.