IslamicFinance.de

The Kuwait investment Authority, or KIA, has turned down a parliamentary proposal to set up a shariah-compliant specialized entity to support small projects by Kuwaiti nationals. The sovereign wealth fund said that it is engaged in undertakings that have been in place for a long time that make creating such entity unnecessary.

Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, will pay a coupon of 5.25 per cent on Turkey’s first Islamic bond offering that was oversubscribed, said people close to the transaction. Kuveyt Turk launched the three-year $100 million sukuk on August 17. This is the first ever sukuk from Turkey and the first bank sukuk originating from Europe, according to law firm Norton Rose, which advised on the offering. “This is another significant step towards growing Islamic finance in Europe. “The sukuk by Kuveyt Turk further demonstrates continuing interest and appetite for Islamic finance within key emerging economies,” Neil D. Miller Global Head of Islamic finance at Norton Rose (Middle East), said in the statement. The joint lead managers on the transaction were Citigroup Global Markets and Liquidity Management House.

Indonesia's finance ministry, Agus Martowardojo, sold 336 billion rupiah of sukuk to the religious affairs ministry through a private placement, said the debt office. The bonds will help fund a budget deficit seen at 1.5 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Sovereign Islamic bonds from Asia to the Persian Gulf are lowering returns on corporate sukuk for the first time in three months.

Malaysia’s Lembaga Tabung Haji fund, France’s BNP Paribas Investment Partners and Duet Mena Ltd. in Dubai forecast government debt will outperform until property prices in the Persian Gulf recover from a slump that prompted credit-ratings companies to downgrade corporate bonds.

Standard & Poor's assigned 'AAA' rating to Islamic Development Bank (IDB) $3.5 billion trust certificate issuance program. Standard & Poor's said the IDB's ratings are underpinned by strong shareholders' support, very high level of capital and liquidity and a good asset portfolio with historically very low losses and preferred-creditor treatment.

World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists Launches “Pakistan Reconstruction Fund” Marking the Second World Humanitarian Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Oak Brook, Illinois, August 19, 2010: The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP) marks today the second World Humanitarian Day by establishing “Pakistan Reconstruction Fund” to rehabilitate communities severely affected by the catastrophic floods in the country.

WCMP expresses its deep concern about massive devastation resulting from the torrential rains that flushed away villages, destroyed about 3.2 million hectares of standing crops, killed hundreds of people and displaced about 14 million people, according to UN estimates.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the rapid delivery of assistance for millions of people in flood-stricken Pakistan, as he saw for himself the devastation wrought by the recent disaster.

In the current issues the following questions are discussed:

How should we recognize excellence in the Islamic finance industry?
How do we identify greatness – of bankers and financiers, of lawyers, of consultants, of scholars?
How do we discourage a culture of „Islamic Awards for Cash??
How do we develop an „Islamic? methodology for rewarding achievement?

The number of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in the UAE dropped almost 20 percent last year. The growth levels in the Middle East were the lowest of all the regions surveyed in the report and Amir Sadr, head of Middle East Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, said this was evidence that the region had underperformed in 2009. A new study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that millionaire households owned more than half of the wealth in the Middle East and Africa region in 2009.

"THE CONCEPT AND OPERATIONS OF SWAP AS A HEDGING MECHANISM FOR ISLAMIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS"

The main objective of this paper is to give a clearer picture of the swap mechanism as offered by the international Islamic financial institutions and how its operations are structured in accordance with Shariah principles and contracts. In preparing this paper, ISRA has held a series of internal discussions as well as with outside parties, including Shariah experts and operating officers from international banks directly involved in the structuring of Shariah-compliant swap products. Documents related to the products and related academic materials were also referred to, giving a wider and thorough perspective on the issue.

by

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki
Head of Research Affairs Department
International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)

Shabnam Mokhtar
Researcher
International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)

Download: http://www.isra.my/media-centre/downloads/summary/29/216.html