IslamicFinance.de

The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds, which use asset returns to pay investors to comply with the religion’s ban on paying interest:

CAGAMAS BHD
LEBANON
WAHA CAPITAL PJSC
KUVEYT TURK KATILIM BANKASI AS
SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO
LAFARGE MALAYAN CEMENT BHD
QATAR ISLAMIC BANK SAQ
PAKISTAN
TAIBA HOLDING CO
THAILAND
DEVELOPMENT BANK OF KAZAKHSTAN
KHAZANAH NASIONAL BHD

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's (ADIB) rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook.

The global economy is facing a deep downturn as a result of the crisis. It was due to excessive
ability to create money and credit for earning increasing profits without creating anything of
value for use by the mankind. The system needs radical change in the approach, principles and
the operation of economic and financial systems. Creation of money, and lending it on interest –
interest based debts and financial obligations leading to undue receivables for the lenders, is
the biggest and primary problem of the conventional system. Islamic principles of finance
provide checks for the factors that have distorted the system. Enhanced supply of risk-related
capital, restricted risk taking, balanced return rate structure based on the real sector economic
activities, and supply of money commensurate with prospects of growth in an economy, provide
a sound basis for sustainable development. Hence, Islamic financial institutions and markets
have better ability to sustain in the hard times. Islamic banking industry should not only have
escaped unharmed during the crisis, it should also have availed the opportunity of developing

CGAP, Deutsche Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and Grameen-Jameel announced the Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010: Innovating Sustainable, Scalable, and Market-Driven Models. The contest is a joint initiative to promote the innovative design of Shariah-compliant products for Islamic microfinance clients.

The organizers are seeking original Islamic microfinance business proposals which are profitable, sustainable, scalable, and Shariah-compliant. Finalists of this competition will be awarded with grant funds as well as need-based technical support to launch a pilot project of their proposed business idea.

It offers a unique opportunity to showcase innovative business ideas, gain industry-wide recognition, and benefit from the funds and technical expertise of leading institutions in the microfinance and Islamic finance sectors.

The limited availability of capital through conventional sources makes it all the more important that the oil and gas industry, in particular, consider alternative financing products. Shariah-compliant finance has the potential to unlock largely untapped liquidity in the Gulf and elsewhere that could add to and complement existing pools of capital required by the sector. (According to the Times of London, Shariah-compliant government bonds, known as sukuk bonds, comply with Islamic law, which forbids the earning of interest on money lent. Instead, bondholders receive “rent” on leasing government assets such as buildings. At the end of the bond term, the Treasury buys back the asset, releasing payments to the investor. Most Islamic financial products work on the principle of investing in a fixed asset able to generate a rate of return, such as property that yields rent, or an asset that can repay a larger capital sum on redemption.) In fact, only two months ago General Electric became the first Western industrial company to issue a sukuk bond, worth around $500 million.

Medium-term growth prospects for the world's sukuk market are good, said Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in a report published today. In addition, we understand from unofficial market sources that about US$10 billion more could potentially enter the pipeline. If that comes to market, total sukuk issuance in 2010 could approach the current 2007 record of US$34.3 billion. The main uncertainty this year is market conditions.

The report on Social Responsibility Trends at Islamic Financial Institutions presents the results of an extensive survey on Social Responsibility at Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) carried out during summer and fall of 2009 by DinarStandard and Dar Al Istithmar with the support of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

Some key findings of the survey were:

Clients: 100% of respondents answered yes to having a policy to screen prospective clients which is actively implemented. Similarly 97% have an organizational policy that deals with client responsibly.

Employees: 83% of respondents’ state having policies that provide equal opportunity to all their employees, 93% have policies that ensures merit-based salary and promotion, and 86% having policies that specifically prohibits any kind of discrimination. However, when it comes to having policy to monitor employees from different backgrounds and gender, the response was mix with only 52% admitting to having such a monitoring policy and 48% not having any such policy.

Palisades Park Capital started a multi-strategy hedge fund in November. Justin Doff and Omar Haroon manage the fund. The fund is a computer-based long-short equity strategy.

Update 12.2.2010: Palisades Park Capital informed IslamicFinance.de that the vehicle has been closed and new subscriptions can no longer be done.

Mark Mobius, who oversees $33 billion in emerging-market securities as chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd., said he’s looking into setting up a Malaysia-based stock fund that’s compliant with Islamic law.

The sukuk market, which has been gaining ground since the second half of 2009, is expected to chart stronger growth in 2010, buoyed by the global economic recovery, low interest rates and the Government's pump-priming initiatives.

Ninth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Building Bridges Across Financial Communities,

March 27-28, 2010, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA., USA

The Ninth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, hosted by Harvard Law School’s Islamic Finance Project, will be held at Austin Hall, Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 27th- 28th, 2010. The theme of the conference will be “Building Bridges across Financial Communities” as it relates to the field of Islamic Finance.

IslamicFinance.de is calling Islamic financial institutions to become member of the UNEP Finance Inititiave to learn and contribute to international best practice in ethical and faith based finance:

"UNEP FI is a global partnership between UNEP and the financial sector. Over 180 institutions, including banks, insurers and fund managers, work with UNEP to understand the impacts of environmental and social considerations on financial performance."

membership information package:
http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/forms/MembershipInformationPack.pdf

Dear Readers,

Would you ever imagine an investor giving you an amount X to participate at a percentage of your lifelong income?

This is what the Thrust Fund suggests:

"Here's how it works:

Thrust Funders learn about Entrepreneurs.

When the Funder sees an Entrepreneur of interest, she or he submits an inquiry to that Entrepreneur and coordinates a time and manner to discuss passions, plans, and pursuits.

When a Thrust Funder decides to support an Entrepreneur, she or he may negotiate exactly what that support will look like. "

The sample contract is shown here:
http://www.thrustfund.com/documents/contract.pdf

The investment is done one to one, no diversification like usually with a fund concept. The current entrepreneurs seeking finance are shown here:

http://www.thrustfund.com/biographies.html

Could such a model work in the Muslim world? Any Sharia restrictions to be imposed for the sake of justice?

Let's start thinking!

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

PRESS RELEASE

Oak Brook, Illinois, January 13, 2010: The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP) expresses its utmost sorrow on the massive devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti, a Caribbean nation suffering with utter poverty. To ensure rapid and effective response to this tragedy, we have established an emergency cell that will closely monitor and assess the situation on ground, and will serve as the bridge between the global community of donors and partner humanitarian agencies. WCMP anticipates working closely with the Organization of Islamic Conference, United Nations, Red Crescent Societies, and other reputable agencies present or familiar with the region.

WCMP urges philanthropists, foundations, and corporations in general and of Muslim world in particular to join us in this multi-partner relief effort. Please direct your communications to the following address:

WCMP- Haiti Emergency Cell
Imtiaz Khan, MD
ikhan@thewcmp.org
+1-630-242-2792

With best regards,

WCMP Secretariat

Madison-based World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has received a $60.5 million federal contract to expand credit union services in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

The international financial services information company Thompson Reuters is planning to launch a news portal covering information about the Islamic financial industry in early 2010.

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, on December 16 announced that it has been named “Best Index Provider Shari’ah compliant Indexes” by Dubai-based Islamic Business & Finance magazine.

The Zawya Collaborative Sukuk Report covers the following issues:

• What is the distribution of current and potential investors and what is their appetite?

• What is the appetite of the Supply side and what drives their need to issue?

• What are the challenges faced by the industry, what are the associated developments and what needs to be done to resolve them?

The download is free after providing contact details to Zawya:

Funds at Work, the strategy consultants analysed the Social Responsible Investment industry with their network analysis. Previously the firm did analyse the Sharia Scholars and their board positions. The report regarding the sister industry of Islamic finance can be downloaded for free.

The Financial Times produced a special looking into the Future of Islamic Finance.

The download is free of charge.