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MSCI Inc., a provider of research-based indexes and analytics, has announced the launch of the Islamic M-Series Indexes, providing an additional Islamic index screening methodology that gives local investors the option to choose between the traditional approach of using total assets or the more widely used market cap-based methodology. The MSCI Islamic Index M-Series includes: MSCI ACWI Islamic M- Series Index, MSCI Europe Islamic M- Series Index, MSCI North America Islamic M- Series Index, MSCI Pacific Islamic M- Series Index, and MSCI EM Islamic M-Series Index. In June 2015, MSCI announced broader coverage of the Middle East equity universe with the launch of the MSCI Saudi Arabia Indexes and the MSCI GCC Countries International Indexes.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Company Limited (Dagong) and Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) have jointly reaffirmed the international scale credit rating of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) at 'BBB+/A3' (Triple B Plus / A Three). In addition, IIRA has reaffirmed ABG 's national scale rating at 'A+(bh)/A2(bh)' (Single A Plus / A Two). Outlook on the assigned ratings is 'Stable'. IIRA has also reassessed the group's overall fiduciary score in the range of '76-80', which indicates strong fiduciary standards and a well developed governance structure. Ratings assigned to ABG derive strength from the group's relatively strong wealth creation ability given increasing demand for Islamic banking services and ABG 's prominent position in the global Islamic banking segment.

"Global Finance" has named Kuwait finance House ( KFH ) the safest Islamic Financial institution in Kuwait, and the third in the GCC for the year 2015. The bank is ranked as one of the top two among all Kuwaiti banks, be it Islamic or conventional. Also, Global Finance announced the 50 safest banks in emerging markets 2015 where KFH was ranked in 28th place. Banks were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings, credit ratings, businesses, financial indicators and total assets. Global Finance study encompassed more than 500 largest banks in Asia, the GCC and MENA. KFH Chief Executive Officer Mazin Al-Nahedh said the ranking confirms KFH 's robust financial position, sound pursued procedures in addition to the professional and legislative commitment.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.83027 points, up from 117.69120 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.41248 against 116.46023 at end-August and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: SapuraKencana Petroleum, a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said in early September it would launch a $200 million sukuk, to be issued on Sept. 8. State-owned public transport operator Prasarana Malaysia said in early September it would fund Malaysia's light rail transit three project via sukuk, with the coupon to be decided later. Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasih has applied to raise up to 1.5 billion lira ($513 million) via sukuk.

Saudi Fransi Capital announces the successful closing of the SAR 1.0 billion five year Sukuk offering on behalf of Abdullah Al Othaim Real Estate Investment and Development Company "OREIDCO". The Sukuk (senior secured) has been issued through OREIDCO Sukuk Limited, by way of a private placement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. OREIDCO Sukuk has attracted strong interest from the investors community in the Kingdom, with demand originating from government-owned funds, banks, asset managers, corporates and insurance companies. It was priced at 6-month SAIBOR + 1.7%. OREIDCO plans to use the Sukuk proceeds for meeting its requirements for capital investment and for general corporate purposes.

Bahrain based International Investment Bank announces the appointment of Mr. Subhi F. Benkhadra as the new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Benkhadra, previously the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi based Baniyas Investment & Development Company, replaces Mr. Fareed Bader, the acting Chief Executive Officer who continues in the role of Executive Committee Member at the bank. Mr. Benkhadra graduated from the University of Bath in 1987 with a BSc in Environmental Engineering and holds a MBA in Finance from City University Business School. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Bankers' Association in London.

Gatehouse Bank plc has announced the completion of an £8.6 million senior financing to support Investra's acquisition of a portfolio of five petrol stations in the UK. Based in Dubai and with an office in London, Investra is an investor of UK real estate. This transaction is the second financing which Gatehouse has completed in partnership with an equity sponsor based in the GCC region in the past six months. Investra is looking to increase our holdings of high-quality income generating assets. Henry Thompson, CEO of Gatehouse, said he was looking forward to announcing further transactions in the coming months.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF 2015) will serve as a platform for historic discussions on what Islamic financial governance can help address ethical lapses in the ethical finance industry. GEFF 2015 will take place on the 1 and 2 of September in Edinburgh. Experts from organizations such as the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Al Rayan Bank, HSBC Amanah Malaysia, European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB-Rasmala) and Ernst & Young will engage fellow ethical finance leaders as part of GEFF's mandate to bridge the disconnect between Islamic finance and the rest of the ethical finance universe. During the panel discussions, experts will review the established regulatory infrastructure in Islamic finance. Find more information at www.geff2015.com.

Islamic Finance is an ideal tool of financial inclusion and can address the poverty issues in East Africa effectively, according to Mr. Zubair Mughal, the Chief Executive Officer of AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE). He was addressing a gathering of the banking and financial industry of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam during an Islamic Banking and Finance event. The overall objective of the event was to create awareness, knowledge development and sharing the best practices of Islamic Banking and Finance with local financial market, so that the Tanzanian Islamic financial market could be established with solid footing using Shariah & technical expertise as concrete.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.69120 points, down from 118.20147 at the end of last month but up from 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.46023 against 116.92144 at end-July and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional Bhd said in late August it would raise up to 10 billion ringgit ($2.39 billion) with sukuk to build and operate a power plant project. International Finance Corp, a unit of the World Bank, planned to meet fixed income investors from Aug. 31 ahead of a potential issue of U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk. Aluminium Bahrain is seeking a credit rating ahead of talks with banks about fund-raising.

Bahrain-based Ibdar Bank has announced the appointment of Mr. Janaka Mendis as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Bank. Mr. Mendis shall provide leadership in attaining the established financial goals of the Bank through managing and operating all financial-related functions. He oversees the Bank's finance, financial strategy, and operational activities, ensuring that Ibdar is well positioned, both financially and strategically, to achieve its transformation agenda. Prior to joining Ibdar, Mr. Mendismost recently spent seven years at Al Salam Bank Bahrain. For four of these years, he served as the institution's Chief Operating Officer after holding other executive roles.

Kuwait International Bank K.S.C. has successfully closed a debut syndicated Murabaha financing facility. The Facility was signed on 24 August 2015. Bahrain-based Bank ABC and Bank ABC Islamic acted as the Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers and Coordinating Banks for the Facility. The Facility was initially launched for US$100 million, and following strong interest from the market KIB decided to utilise the significant oversubscription to increase the Facility size to US$320 million. The Facility carries a tenor of 3 years and will be used by KIB for general funding purposes.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.97246 points, down from 118.20147 at the end of last month but up from 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.67852 against 116.92144 at end-July and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Malaysia's TIME dotCom is proposing a 1 billion ringgit ($240 million) sukuk programme to run until 2035. Sukuk are a funding option for the Philippine government, National Treasurer Roberto Tan said, adding that he hoped Congress would pass legislation to allow such issuance. Saudi Arabian dairy producer Almarai will issue a senior sukuk of up to 2 billion riyals ($533 million).

The Egypt part of the Bahraini Al Baraka Group plans to pump one billion Egyptian pounds (US$127.8 million) into mega projects in the country. According to Ashraf El Ghamrawy - CEO of Al Baraka Bank Egypt, the bank intends to invest in the Suez Canal Corridor Area as well as East Port Said (Tafreeaa) Port projects. The Suez Canal Corridor Area project's aim is to increase the role of the Suez Canal region in international trading and to develop the three canal cities: Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said. Al Baraka Bank Egypt has allocated around 250 million Egyptian pounds to invest in one of the logistics projects in Suez Canal, however, no details were given until an agreement is reached.

Datuk Dr Mohd Daud Bakar is the founder and executive chairman of Amanie Advisors. He chairs the Sharia'a Advisory Council at the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Securities Commission of Malaysia. A Sharia'a board member on various financial institutions in Malaysia and the Middle East, Dr Bakar is also deputy chairman on the board of Al Madina Takaful in Oman. Dr Bakar was recently in Muscat to attend Al Madina's Sharia'a board meeting. He spoke about the global Islamic finance industry and shared his views on the outlook for Oman's Islamic banking and takaful markets. He said that in Oman, awareness needs to be spread at all levels through all available channels.

Bahrain's Khaleeji Commercial Bank 's (KHCB) has recently signed an agreement with T'azur Islamic Insurance Company, one of Bahrain's Takaful International Islamic insurance Company providers. The agreement aims to provide Comprehensive and Third Party insurance services for vehicles, property, travel and tourism including other personal insurance products at KHCB 's branch in Budaiya. The signing ceremony was held recently at the Khaleeji Commercial Bank headquarters in the presence of KHCB Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Khalil Al Meer and T'azur Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yahya Nooruddin, along with management officials and high-level representatives from both parties.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is inviting nominations for candidates to serve on its technical boards that are tasked to carry out development and revision of its international Islamic finance standards. The technical boards in AAOIFI currently consist of Shari'a Board as well as Accounting and Auditing Standards Board. It is proposed that AAOIFI Accounting and Auditing Standards Board will be split into two new technical boards, namely AAOIFI Accounting Board and AAOIFI Governance and Ethics Board. These two boards will be responsible for AAOIFI standards on accounting, auditing, ethics and governance. Meanwhile, AAOIFI Shari'a Board will continue to be responsible for AAOIFI Shari'a standards.

GCC Board Directors Institute ("BDI") has appointed H+K Strategies ("H+K") as content partner to the Institute for a period of three years. The other content partners are PwC, McKinsey & Co, Heidrick& Struggles and Allen &Overy, while supported by the Capital Market Authorities in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, Qatar Financial Centre and the Central Bank of Bahrain. Launched in 2007, BDI is the pre-eminent organization for boards and directors in the Gulf helping boards become more effective so that organizations may perform better and grow. In its capacity of content partner, H+K will contribute with knowledge on matters critical to board effectiveness in today's multi-faceted and high-speed communications environment.

There is little doubt that real estate as an asset class has become more important since the financial crisis with billions of dollars of investment emanating from the GCC and Muslim jurisdictions increasingly seeking Shariah compliant investment opportunities in key global real estate markets. With recent GBP1.35 billion financing of the Battersea Power Station - one of the largest real estate financings in the UK in recent years, the IREF Summit comes at a good timing. This year's IREF Summit provides a focused platform to discuss key issues, identify opportunities and forge new business relationships. For further information on the Summit please visit www.irefsummit.co.uk or contact info@icg-events.com

Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt is currently negotiating with four real estate investment firms to take part in the central bank's social housing initiative, Product Manager-Mortgage Unit Mahmoud Idris said. Idris stated that the bank is to sign a protocol with one of those companies this week. He refused to reveal the names of the four firms before finishing the agreements. In 2014, Egypt's Central Bank (CBE) launched a new initiative worth 10 billion Egyptian pounds (US$1.4 billion) to stimulate the mortgage sector.