IslamicFinance.de

Fifa bought into the vision of new markets, notwithstanding the oppressive heat of the summer, big vision of small sized Qatar and the perceived instability of the region.
The World Cup should be seen as a new beginning for (economically established) Muslim countries.
A number of stadiums need to be built, infrastructure to connect, and accommodations to house participants, hence, an ideal situation for financing via 'FIFA World Cup sukuk' programme series.
The initial cost estimates of the public works is estimated to be nearly US$50 billion (RM157.15 billion).
Malaysian Islamic banks should look into merits of naming rights for the stadium, and it should be viewed as an investment.

Qatar’s overseas investment portfolio is growing and the country is expected to spend tens of billions of dollars in the year ahead as it expands its investments around the world.
For example, the country wants to come to a capacity of export of 77 million tones a year, from bout 69 million tonnes currently.

QInvest, Qatar's leading investment bank, has acquired a 28% stake in Asian Business Exhibition & Conferences Ltd (ABECL), India's leading exhibitions and conferences organizer.
The proceeds from the investment will be used to expand ABECL's operations in India and to establish an international presence.

New rules for Islamic banking in Qatar released by the Central Bank in late August will change the way conventional banks offer sharia-compliant services and likely boost the performance of banks that focus solely on such services, reports Global Arab Network according to OBG.
The new regulations, made public on August 29, prohibit conventional banks from allocating more than 10% of issued capital to Islamic banking operations and from opening additional branches for Islamic banking. There is also a limit on mudaraba (profit-sharing) and musharaka (joint ventures) to 5% of a bank’s total Islamic operations.
The message seems to be that banks can either focus on conventional or sharia-compliant banking, but not both. The new rules come into effect immediately but banks have until the end of 2011 to fully comply.
While that may be true in the short term, the limits on conventional banks may spur them to increase product offerings in other areas and will likely increase competition among institutions that offer only sharia-compliant services.

Asian Finance is conducting a due diligence and aims for the acquisition by Qatar Islamic to be completed by April next year.
Qatar Islamic, the Persian Gulf country’s biggest lender that complies with the religion’s ban on interest, is seeking to expand its services to take advantage of growth in the $1 trillion industry. Asian Finance also held meetings with Australian government officials to advise them on Islamic products, as the nation plans to change laws to attract investors from the Middle East and Asia.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, is studying ways to make tax laws more conducive to developing Islamic finance.

Businessman and investor Ibrahim Al Asmakh has donated QR100m to Qatar Charity to set up a micro-lending bank based on Shariah law for supporting poor and low-income segments of the society in Qatar and other Arab and Islamic countries.
Al Asmakh and Qatar Charity have signed an agreement in this respect. The proposed bank will help unemployed youth set up income-generating projects and undergo training.

Doha Bank and Allianz Takaful, a major player in the Takaful insurance segment have jointly announced a Bancassurance partnership to promote Islamic Insurance products in Qatar.
In a function held at the Head Office of Doha Bank R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank and Dr Abdul Rahman Tolefat, Chairman of Allianz Takaful signed on the landmark Bancassurance partnership agreement. Through this arrangement the bank will promote and sell Family Takaful products comprising of plans for protection, savings, investment and child education developed and underwritten by Allianz Takaful. The products which are denominated in dollars and Qatari Riyal will be available to both conventional and Islamic banking customers.

A Malaysia International Finance Centre (MIFC) delegation, headed by Raja Nazrin Shah, crown prince of Perak, visited Saudi Arabia recently to promote Islamic finance relations. The 33-member delegation included representatives of 17 Islamic banks and 12 Islamic fund management companies and some asset management firms, aside from Takaful operators, and legal and other professional services firms.
With the sukuk market acquiring going global dimensions market education and knowledge, especially of Islamic Capital Markets (ICM), becomes a necessity. This is met by the Islamic Markets Programme (IMP), which is held annually by the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), the training and development arm of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).

For many, banking is perceived as a very serious and regulated domain that easily dismisses emotional concepts such as humor as a sign of carelessness and irresponsibility. For some, Islamic banking is perceived as an even more serious and dry subject. As Qatar's newest Islamic banking group, Barwa Bank decided to change this perception by running a major campaign in Doha - a campaign designed to make you think again and smile.

Qatar Islamic Bank said last week following a report from Zawya Dow Jones that it would kick off a global investor roadshow on Sept. 24 in Asia ahead of a planned sukuk. The roadshow began in Asia and then moved to the Middle East and Europe this week.
HSBC Bank Middle East, QInvest and Credit Suisse are advising QIB on the deal.
The chunky order book signals strong demand among investors, who are scrambling to get exposure to the oil-rich Gulf. Qatar, the wealthy gas-rich Arab state, has seen a string of bond issuances this year, including a $3.5 billion offering from the property arm of its sovereign wealth fund earlier in the summer, as the country tries to deepen its capital markets and create a yield curve.

Qatar Islamic Bank could raise as much as $750m by selling five-year Islamic bonds.
Qatar Islamic said last week it would start meeting with investors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe starting September 24 and had hired Credit Suisse Group, HSBC Holdings and Qatari investment bank QInvest to manage the issuance.
Akber Khan, a director at Al Rayan Investment in Doha has the strong oppinion that the demand for it has been very strong

Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB) and specialist regional asset manager Gulfmena Alternative Investments plan to set up a Shariah-compliant asset management firm to tap into rising demand for Islamic investment products.

The report pointed out that Kuwait ranked first among the GCC countries in terms Islamic banks assets to total banking assets, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE have risen among the countries that promote Islamic finance products and services. It added that there are many opportunities still available for Islamic finance solutions in the region where real estate finance tops other areas of interest prevalent in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The existence of financial centers in Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, as well as a number of Islamic finance organizations such as the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, Liquidity Management Centre, and the International Islamic Financial Market will continue to attract new players to the region and further propel the Islamic banking industry to greater heights.

With high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in the GCC are seen as the most active in management their wealth during later life, over 90 percent reject the idea of getting retire, according to Barclays Wealth latest Insights report.
The report titled The Age Illusion: How the Wealthy are Redefining Their Retirement is the twelfth in the Barclays Wealth Insights series, shows that HNWIs in Saudi Arabia (92 percent), United Arab Emirates (91 percent) and Qatar (89 percent) illustrated the biggest desire amongst global respondents to keep working in later life. According to the findings of the report the retirement is being rejected by a new breed of wealthy worker, who want to carry on working for as long as they are able.

BARWA Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of its Board of Directors (the "Board"). The nine strong Board will be chaired by H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, and consists of the following members:Chairman: H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani
Deputy Chairman & Managing Director: Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Aziz Al-Saad
Board Member: Dr. Hassan Lahdan Al-Mohannadi
Board Member: Mr. Ahmed Yousef Kamal
Board Member: Mr. Ali Mohammed Sabah Al-Assiry
Board Member: Mr. Jamal A. Rahman Senan Al Muslmani
Board Member: Mr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Dulaimi
Board Member: Mr. Thani Al-Rahman Al-Kuwari
Board Member: Ms. Aisha Mohammed Al-Naoimi
The Board of Directors will meet at least 6 times per year and ad hoc as required.

Qatar First Investment Bank is co-launching with Gulfmena a unique, one-stop Shari'ah compliant asset management company. The new asset management company is expected to launch in fourth quarter 2010.

It will provide a fully integrated range of Shari'ah compliant products and services covering all asset classes and catering to qualified investors such as foundations, charitable organizations, Awqaf, Islamic banks, Takaful and Re-takaful companies as well as high-net worth individuals.

Qatar First Investment Bank isn’t discussing the purchase of Ihlas Finans, the financial arm of Turkey’s Ihlas Holding AS. This statement was given by Emad Mansour.

Qatar is expected to be the largest source of real estate capital during 2010, a Jones Lang LaSalle report said. Recent investments - such as the purchase of London department store Harrods in May are likely to be followed by further investments in other markets across Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, it said. Qatar's competitive advantage will be helped by the decline in investment from German funds.

Following an investigation into the activities of Al Mal, an authorised firm in the Qatar Financial Centre (“QFC”), the QFC Regulatory Authority has taken the decision to withdraw the authorisation of Al Mal.