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Bank Sohar has appointed Salim Khamis Al Maskari, the former senior assistant general manager of branches, as the head of Sohar Islamic, Bank Sohar’s Islamic banking window. Prior to joining Bank Sohar in 2007, Salim Al Maskari had worked as the district manager of the Sharquiyah region for Oman International Bank and later moved to Bank Muscat as the regional manager of the north capital region. He has more than 29 years of experience in the banking sector in Oman and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hull, UK. He also completed his Certification in Islamic Banking and Takaful Products (CIMA) examinations in 2015.

Johor state investment arm Johor Corp will list its Islamic real estate investment trust (REIT) known as Al-Salam on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Sept 22. Al-Salam REIT is seeking to raise gross proceeds of RM252.36 million arising from the issuance of 252.36 million offer units, based on an offer price of RM1 per unit, which will account for 43.5% of the trust. The bulk or RM242.86 million of the proceeds raised from the initial public offering (IPO) will be used to pay for the purchase of five properties that will make up the initial portfolio.The Islamic REIT will primarily comprise commercial retail, office and industrial purposes as well as real estate-related assets.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) have announced to constitute an Islamic banking standing committee. The announcement was made by KPCCI president, Faud Ishaq while speaking at a seminar on 'Islamic banking and Takaful'. Faud Ishaq said the proposed committee will play vital role for provision interest-free banking facilities to business community as per Islamic code and sharia. He urged the Central bank to take measures for promotion of Islamic banking in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. KPCCI chief expressed satisfaction over 30 to 40 per cent growth in Islamic Banking by State Bank of Pakistan during last six years across the country.

The TBLI Conference Europe 2015 is going to take place at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Zurich on November 19-20, 2015. The cost of the event is CHF 625 (USD 639). A set of three private meetings with potential investors and business partners is available for an additional fee of CHF 500 (USD 511). Additional meetings can be booked at CHF 150 (USD 154) each. TBLI Conference offers a series of presentations and workshops that focus on environment, social, governance (ESG) and impact investing topics. This year’s conference will focus on ESG and impact investing across asset classes. Find more information on http://www.tbligroup.com/tbliconference/europe2015.html.

Australia-based Islamic fund manager Crescent Wealth is now managing over $100 Million in Islamic Super and Investments. This makes Crescent Wealth not only one of Australia’s fastest growing Super funds, but also one of the best performing with many of their funds market leaders in their respective sectors. This is a remarkable achievement for a company that launched the world’s first private Islamic pension fund a little over 2 years ago. Crescent Wealth’s International Equity Fund was ranked as the #1 Top Performing Ethical Fund returning 27.9% after fees (ranking by Financial Express for the 2015 financial year). Since its launch on 22 February 2013 to 30 June 15, the same fund has achieved a great total return of 60.65%.

Linklaters is expecting sovereign Sukuks to be issued by the Ivory Coast, Oman, Tunisia, Jordan and UAE and next year they’re expecting a number to be issued across the Middle East and Africa. Different considerations come into play in the Middle East. For example, oil price movements over the past year have inevitably had an impact on countries whose GDP is inextricably linked with the price of oil. Besides, there is an ever-growing demand for Sukuk products in the GCC, and this will continue to drive innovation in the Sukuk market to enable companies, from different sectors and with different assets available to underpin the Sukuk, to issue these products.

Saudi's Ijmal LLC has hired Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), to help achieve Sharia Compliance in all its business activities. In this role, SRB will lead and oversee the company's Sharia compliant operations with global standards. Ijmal was incorporated in 2014 by Al Deghaither Group, Al-Othaim Holding, ICD and Nizwa Bank. Ijmal partners with real estate developers through a hybrid structure that incentivizes developers to achieve better quality products. Ijmal started its operations targeting developments located in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar. So far, Ijmal has partnered with one developer building 68 sea-front apartments in Kohbar Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait-based Wethaq Takaful Insurance Company intends to sell its stake in the Egyptian unit, Wethaq Takaful Egypt for KWD1.3 million (US$4.3 million). The board of the Kuwaiti insurer had given Wednesday the go-ahead to sell its stake in the Egyptian unit in favour of a buyer whose name was not mentioned in the company's statement to the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange. The Shareholders' structure in Wethaq Egypt includes: Wethaq Takaful Insurance Company of Kuwait (60%), Kuwait-based Adeem Investment and Wealth Management Company (39.9%), and Kuwaiti investor Najeeb Al-Humaidhi (0.1%).

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 118.39852 points, up from 118.20147 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 117.20366 against 116.92144 at end-July and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co is marketing a five-year debut sukuk issue which could raise up to 1 billion riyals ($267 million) for the company. Tunis-based Best Lease aims to raise up to 30 million dinars ($15.6 million) via sukuk to finance its growth. Kuwait is preparing legislation to facilitate issues of sukuk by the government as it assesses options to finance a big budget deficit.

New markets for Islamic finance are emerging, with African countries launching debut sovereign sukuk and East Asian countries enabling their domestic markets to tap into Islamic financing, a glimpse of the 2015-2016 edition of the ‘State of the Global Islamic Economy’ said ahead of the Global Islamic Economy Summit that will run in Dubai on Oct. 5-6, 2015. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have formally launched a $500 million grant facility to address poverty and diseases in IDB member countries. Meanwhile, European banks in Russia and Germany, for example, are also investing in Islamic finance through debut sovereign sukuk and Islamic banking windows.

Barwa Bank has promoted Talal Ahmad Al Khaja (pictured) to Chief Communications officer. Al Khaja will oversee marketing and communications and public and shareholder relations. Prior to joining the bank in 2009, he worked across private sector institutions and organisations. Holding a Master’s in business management, a bachelor’s degree from Qatar University, and professional certifications, he has amassed over nine years’ experience in administration, marketing, public relations and corporate governance. During his tenure at the bank, he has contributed to acquisitions of the group’s affiliate companies and subscription management in capital financing in 2011. His efforts led to the establishment of the group’s Investor and Shareholder Relations Department.

The growing number of dismissals at the recently seized Islamic lender Bank Asya has drawn a reaction from the Pak Finance Employees Union (Pak Finans-??), which announced it would file complaints against the layoffs and demand that those dismissed be reinstated. In a written statement on Friday, Pak Finans-?? said nine regional managers, 13 branch managers, two directors and 264 workers have been laid off since Feb. 3. In the latest of what the union calls politically motivated decisions, three managerial-level employees were dismissed on Wednesday, the statement read. The common denominator of those discharged from the bank is that they all refused to overlook irregularities and criminal practices that had been ordered by the managing board.

Fresh off the back of a strong first-half performance to the year, Qatar International Islamic Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and director Abdulbasit Ahmad Al-Shaibei is basking in a bumper era of growth. The bank has seen its profits grow by around 4-17 per cent every year since 2010 and, if the first six months of this year are any indication, 2015 should maintain the positive run. QIIB announced a net profit of 438 million riyals ($120.3 million) for the first half of the year, a 9 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2014. Al-Shaibei is seeing opportunity for further growth in some unconventional places.

Turkey is one of the largest upper middle-income countries with a vast potential to expand financial inclusion. A closer look at the data reveals that the progress regarding account ownership among women has been paralleled by an equally steep (and frankly, perplexing) decrease of account ownership among men (from 82% to 69%). Similarly, while borrowing from a financial institution has more than quadrupled and is more than six times higher for women than it was in 2011 (albeit starting from an extremely low level of 2.4%). What can be said with some confidence, however, is that there is room for improvement, as the overall account ownership remained unchanged.

Shariah- based funding is available now to support viable green technology projects, says Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd Managing Director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat. He said the bank would use every opportunity to promote Shariah-based financial products and services for project financing transactions, in line with the government's aim of establishing Malaysia as a leader in Islamic finance. Zukri said Bank Islam had completed the project financing transaction exercise for Kerian Energy via the syndicated Islamic financing facilities of RM121.44 million under the Shariah principle of Tawarruq. He also said the bank was looking towards re-balancing its consumer banking and corporate banking portfolio at a ratio of 70:30 by year-end.

Islamic scholars and religious leaders are preparing a call for action on climate change that will say it's the religious duty of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims to fight global warming. The declaration will be made in Istanbul next Tuesday during a two-day meeting in the Turkish city coordinated by three religious-environmental groups, according to Climate Action Network, a network of non-governmental organisations. A growing list of religious leaders have made interventions on climate change to spell out the moral imperative to reduce man-made greenhouse-gas pollution and prevent the worst effects of climate change. Foremost was Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics.

Momentum is building for economic relations between the Gulf States and Turkey, economists say. Turkey can increase the existing trade volume with the Gulf States by setting sector-based targets and by taking advantage of international conditions, according to Sedat Kutlu, an expert with the Turkish Arab Countries Businessmen’s Association. Exports and imports can open access to a broad base of businesspeople, The Economist Intelligence Unit noted in a July report that Turkey is developing as an increasingly important economic partner for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) countries. Trade volume between Turkey and the GCC was close to $16 billion in 2014, according to EIU statistics, up from about $5 billion in 2005.

Syria now has one of the lowest education rates in the world. A 2015 Save the Children report estimates that 2.8 million Syrian children are not attending school and a quarter of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Many youth must forego education and work to help their families survive. Yet what often gets lost in this picture is the resilience shown by many young Syrians and their determination to play a role in building a better Syria. The Syrian Economic Forum (SEF) is helping Syria’s youth to play an active role in society through a CIPE-supported course for recent high school graduates that provides an immersion in entrepreneurship, leadership, and civic skills.

After delivering strong results in 2014, Islamic banks in the Gulf region face a gradually weakening operating outlook in 2015-2016, largely due to declining oil revenues, says a report published today by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. But as the report, titled "Gulf-Based Islamic Banks Grapple With Weakening Regional Economies," also points out, we believe investor demand for Sharia-compliant products and supportive government actions will enable Islamic banks in the region to continue to grow. In S&P's opinion, the two most important factors influencing the Islamic banks' faster growth are an increasing demand for both retail and corporate Sharia-compliant banking products and government initiatives designed to support Islamic finance.

Amãna Bank, a Sri Lankan bank operating on the non-interest based Islamic banking model, made a net profit of 47.5 million rupees in the June 2015 quarter against a loss of 85.6 million rupees a year ago. Financing income rose 15 percent to 676 million rupees while expenses rose 7.3 percent to 330 million rupees resulting in net financing income rising 24 percent to 346 million rupees during the period. Earnings per share of Amãna Bank were four cents in the quarter. Net fee and commission income rose 16 percent to 38 million rupees. Amãna Bank’s total assets were up 15 percent to 40 billion rupees as at 30 June 2015 from 31 December 2014 while total deposits rose 13 percent to 33 billion rupees.