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Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) said it had received a letter of intent from a consortium led by Jordan's Bank Al Etihad interested in buying MESC Investment. The proposal sets out the terms and conditions required for the purchase of MESC Investment, a Jordan-based company in which DIB holds a 40 percent shareholding through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Petra and Levant One. MESC owns 52 percent of Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, a Jordan-based unit of DIB.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited had five independent directors, of whom four have been dismissed in the last few months. These men are: NRM Borhan Uddin, AKM Sadrul Islam, Md Belayet Hossain and Md Abdus Salam. The bank’s board of directors refrained from renewing the tenures of these four because of government directives. Banking industry analysts believe the government’s directive is part of its plan to appoint four directors of its own choice. They believe the government is taking control of Islami Bank through several major changes including the board of directors. Last week freedom fighter engineer Mostafa Anwar replaced Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher as the chairman.

Sukuk linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate will provide investors protection against rising inflation in Turkey. The short term sukuk, known as rental certificates in Turkey was issued with a maturity of 729 days. The issue was subscribed by means of a private placement at a profit rate of 3.39 % above the CPI rate.

In Ghana the National Insurance Commission (NIC) may soon introduce Islamic based insurance known as Takaful insurance. The Commissioner of Insurance Lydia Lariba Bawa said in places where the Muslim population is higher like Gambia and Nigeria, Takaful insurance is gaining grounds. There is a Muslim community in Ghana that can be adressed by introducing the Takaful insurance. This move will contribute to the Commission’s effort to increase insurance penetration in the country.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has organised an IFSB Seminar on Islamic Capital Market themed Supporting Development through Sukuk: Prospects and Initiatives on 10 April 2016 in Cairo, Egypt. This Seminar was held as part of the IFSB Annual Meetings and Side Events 2016, hosted by the Central Bank of Egypt. Sherif S. Samy, Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, highlighted the importance of appropriate legal framework to support the issuance of Sukuk. He also emphasised the need for utilising Sukuk as a source of funding for social and infrastructure financing.

Malaysian transportation provider Perak Transit aims to raise RM10mil in the form of a RM10mil term financing facility for three years via the investment account platform (IAP). Bank Muamalat is acting as the investment manager for the exercise, where the RM10mil is expected to generate a return of 6.5% per annum to investors. Investors can register at iaplatform.com to place their investments in Perak Transit, which starts at a minimum of RM10,000.

EthisCrowd.com, a Shariah compliant crowdfunding platform, is looking to raise up to S$1 million ($740,000) for a real estate crowdfunding initiative from senior executives and delegates present at the Global Islamic Finance Forum 5.0 in Kuala Lumpur next month. The funds will be raised for the Depok Dream Village in Jakarta. Founder Umar Munshi said he expects the projected returns to be 48 to 55 per cent over three to 3.5 years from a share of the development profits.

1MDB has confirmed the default in IPIC guaranteed bonds but assured that there are no cross defaults on the bonds guaranteed by the Malaysian government. 1MDB explained the limited default from the non-payment of USD50.3 million interest on the Langat Notes is due to non-payment by International Petroleum Investment Company and reassured investors of the company's intention to meet its financial obligations.

Wan Mohd Fadzlullah Wan Abdullah, CEO of Hong Leong MSIG Takaful (HLMT), a joint venture between Hong Leong Financial Group Malaysia and Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has resigned from the Islamic insurer. According to reports, Fauzi’s exit could have something to do with a dispute over HLMT’s future strategic directions with HLA Holdings, which is part of Hong Leong Financial Group Malaysia and owns a 65% stake in HLMT.

Khalid Al Aboudi, Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), rang the market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of a 300 million US dollar Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. The total nominal value of Sukuk currently listed in Dubai has now reached $42.61 billion, more than the value listed in any other centre. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group has seven other Sukuk currently outstanding on Nasdaq Dubai that have listed since 2014, with a total nominal value of $8.05 billion.

RHB Islamic International Asset Management (IIAM) has launched the RHB Islamic Asian Megatrend Fund, leveraging on the growth potential of Asian markets. According to RHB Group Asset Management managing director Eliza Ong the total assets under the fund stand at RM127 million. The fund is looking at a return of between eight and 12 per cent per annum over the next three to five years.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said on Sunday its shareholders have approved the decision to pay more than 24 per cent, or Dh0.2427, per share for the year. The annual general assembly also approved the financial statements for the year to December 2015. The bank posted an 11 per cent increase in net profit in 2015. The bank recorded a net profit of Dh1.943 billion compared with Dh1.75 billion in the same period in the previous year.

Noor Bank reported a net operating profit of Dh561 million for the year 2015, up 40 per cent compared to 2014. The bank attributed increase in profitability to a 73 per cent surge in fee and commission income and a 35 per cent rise in net income from financing. Bank’s total assets increased 36 per cent to Dh39 billion in 2015 compared to Dh29 billion in 2014. While customer financing grew by 29 per cent during 2015 customer deposits were up 35 per cent to Dh32.1 billion last year.

Emirates Islamic announced the launch of Social Banking, offering banking services via Twitter, making it the first Islamic bank in the UAE to offer banking services on a social media platform. Faisal Aqil, Deputy CEO, said banking via twitter is especially relevant given the UAE’s advanced social media and mobile phone penetration. Customers will be able to perform select transactions such as balance enquiry, view their last few transactions, and make enquiries about their accounts or credit cards with a simple tweet. To maintain privacy and confidentiality, the bank will only respond to customer queries via a direct message.

Dubai’s Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) has continued to spread its reach to a greater number of people with its initiatives and beneficiaries doubling last year. AMAF recorded a growth of 19 per cent last year, with its revenue reaching Dh172 million, up from Dh144 million in 2014. Tayeb Abdul Rahman Al Rais, secretary-general of AMAF, said there are currently 26 projects and initiatives that help orphans and ensure their well-being in a sustainable way.

Daud Vicary Abdullah, President of the International Centre for Islamic Finance discusses the role of education and specifically higher education programs in Islamic finance. Islamic finance has been growing to where it is today because it has used conventional tactics or conventional instruments. Now there is a big opportunity to use new risk-sharing instruments. The idea is that people get education early and see this not as a religious threat but as a set of options about which they can make realistic choices.

Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance decided to give over ninety percent of its content, the Handbook of Islamic Finance, free of charge. The 800 page ebook came out of the Certified Islamic Finance Executive program as a handy way for bankers and students to access everything in one place: contracts, articles, recommended readings, hundreds of answers to questions, and Dr. Usmani's entire Guide to Islamic Banking. Ethica's spokesperson said the ebook is designed to take a newcomer to Islamic finance through the basics of how a market works on principles of equity, trade, and leasing, without debt.

University of New Orleans finance professor M. Kabir Hassan has won the IDB Prize in Islamic Banking & Finance from the Islamic Development Bank.The prize is awarded for outstanding merit in the fields of Islamic economics, banking and finance. Hassan will receive an award of about $47,000. He will be presented with the prize at the IDB board of governors’ annual meeting May 15-19 in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will also deliver a lecture on his research in Islamic finance.

According to the fourth annual BNP Paribas Individual Philanthropy Index by Forbes Insights, the United States remains the leader globally in personal philanthropy. Europe comes in as a close second, followed by Asia, with the Middle East achieving the sharpest increase in philanthropic giving. Almost all countries were focused on Health as the top area of philanthropic giving (United States at 60%), while Asia as a region chose Environment.

KT Bank AG, a subsidiary of Kuveyt Türk Katilim Bankasi A.S., is the first Islamic bank in the Eurozone. CEO Kemal Ozan said his bank has officially established a previously unknown business model in this region. As location for the registered office he chose Germany where only 5% of the German Muslim population adheres to Islamic banking. When this is measured against the number of more than four million Muslims in Germany, a huge growth potential can be anticipated. The economic exchange between Germany and the Gulf region opens new opportunities for the mid-tier segment with regard to sales markets, and for Europe as a recipient for Arabic investors. In this respect KT Bank AG wants to serve as a bridge between Germany and the MENA region.