IslamicFinance.de

HSBCAT is considered an important member of HSBC Group under Fitch's "Approach to Rating Insurance Groups".
The rating agency recognizes the support and benefits HSBCAT enjoys from the group's strong branding, product and distribution capabilities, and other management resources.
HSBCAT follows a modified Wakala (agency) model, whereby the takaful operator receives a Wakala fee for the management services it provides to the participants, as well as an incentive fee, expressed as a percentage of surplus from the risk funds. Under this model, HSBCAT's profitability is determined, to a large extent, by its Wakala fee income and expense level.

Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful (HLTMT) targets RM1 million contribution in the first six months for its newly launched takaful product, HLTMT i-Ihsan.
This product was the first that offers customers the flexibility in choosing the amount of sum covered or protection and savings based on their financial needs.

Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) seeks persons with financial or legal background with insurance experience to be appointed as an administrator to Ceylinco Takaful Ltd.
Ceylinco Takaful Ltd. was formerly suspended the registration by IBSL for general insurance for three weeks, in 5 August 2009 prohibiting it from issuing new insurance policies in respect of General Insurance Business and back in 26th August 2009.
IBSL annual report for 2009 further underlined that Ceylinco Takaful Limited, whose registration is under suspension.

Bank Negara has approved the joint application by Public Bank Bhd (PBB), Public Islamic Bank Bhd (PIBB) and ING Management Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd for a family takaful licence.
ING and the PBB group began their 10-year strategic bancassurance alliance in 2008.

The dual agency concept, where conventional and takaful policies are sold by the same agents, is gaining popularity, especially among bigger insurance players.
Great Eastern Takaful Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad said the company would adopt the dual agency or a single structure concept akin to a one-stop agency system that distribute both conventional and takaful products.
Meanwhile, MAA Takaful Bhd CEO Salim Majid Zain said the company would maintain a separate structure as conventional insurance companies and takaful ones were regulated differently.

Fitch Ratings has updated the Takaful Rating Methodology, a sub-sector criteria report within its Insurance group. There are no substantive changes from the prior version.
This criteria report falls under Fitch's global master criteria report for the insurance industry titled 'Insurance Rating Methodology' which was published in August 2010.

Kumpulan Takaful Malaysia may consider getting "intellectual capital" from foreign partners.
Mohamed Hassan said Takaful Malaysia was adequately capitalised but it could use some intellectual capital such as technical support, especially in the finance area.
The Indonesian operation contributed about five per cent to the total revenue but has potential in terms of growth.

Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services AG (ZURN.VX) will continue to eye bolt-on acquisitions in emerging markets and sees Islamic insurance, or takaful, as key to growing its Middle Eastern business.
Zurich earlier in October said it bought privately-owned Lebanese insurer Compagnie Libanaise D'Assurances and recently set up a management unit dedicated to the wider Middle East and Africa region.
The insurer is betting on sharia-compliant insurance sector, corporates and large commercial businesses to grow its presence in the wider Middle East.
Analysts expect the sharia-compliant insurance sector to grow nearly 15 percent annually in the next five years and exceed $7 billion in premium income.
With a penetration rate of around 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the overall Middle Eastern insurance sector lags mature markets but its enormous growth potential has already attracted global heavyweights such as AXA (AXAF.PA) and Allianz AVLG.DE.

The Board of Directors of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful (PQFTL) has decided to further invest in the company by issuing right shares up to 33 percent of the base capital. This was decided at the Board of Directors meeting of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful held in Doha recently.
The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman and was attended by all the members.
PQFTL CEO, P Ahmed appraised the board on the company's position and presented the progress report. Sheikh Ali and other members of the board expressed their appreciation for the company's performance despite the difficult socio-economic conditions of the country.

Shariah-compliant insurance (Takaful) is gaining traction in the Middle East with prospects for insurers to create distribution channels that meet the dedicated clientele needs.
Takaful segment was certainly growing though it was not yet a major component in the global insurance industry.
In Saudi Arabia, many insurers were now offering takaful products, covering life, non-life and personal lines.
Although the growth is slow, a noteworthy feature is that takaful activities have not “stagnated” in the recent past.
On challenges facing the global insurance industry, the sector was still governed by macro-economic issues, which were a fall-out of the economic turmoil. The insurance industry has been hit worldwide; not just in the US or the Eurozone.

Agha & Co (the Firm), a Shariah compliant legal consultancy established by Oliver Ali Agha, commenced operation in Dubai in May 2010 and is scheduled to have a formal office inauguration on October 25, 2010. Previously, Agha and Dr. Saeed Mohammed Al-Shamsi established Agha & Shamsi, an affiliated firm, in Abu Dhabi. The Firm and its affiliate are said to be the first Shariah compliant legal consultancies established globally.
Agha & Co’s strategic position in the UAE, fast becoming a major commercial hub for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), includes a network of affiliation arrangements with leading law firms both internationally.
Agha & Co’s partners have previously lead practice areas at top Am Law 50 and top tier English firms, and are well-respected in the fields of Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Corporate (including cross-border M&A), Projects, Project Finance, Energy, Public-Private Placements (PPPs), Commercial Transactions, Capital Markets, Islamic Funds & Private Equity, Restructuring, Insurance (Takaful), Arbitration and Dispute Resolution.

Investors are rolling out more Sharia-compliant financial services into the Kenyan market, betting on the growth of the Muslim population to boost the uptake of Islamic financial services that began five years back with simple current accounts.
The growth in numbers coincides with a string of new financial service investments that target the faithful.
The bank’s managing director, Mr Nathif Adam, said the entry into takaful is a first step towards offering integrated Islamic financial services, a strategy that has been echoed by Gulf African Bank that also announced plans to venture into other financial services in the near term.
Other conventional banks have also developed Sharia-compliant current accounts while conventional insurers are eyeing new opportunities in Sharia-compliant products.
Mr Adam told Business Daily the bank has signed up one conventional insurer and will soon rope in more underwriters to act as agents for its takaful offerings.
The two firms said they are targeting general insurance focusing on property and motor covers.

International insurers seeking a bigger share of the potentially lucrative Gulf market need to adapt quickly to regulatory changes and tap into growth areas like Islamic finance or risk being muscled out of consolidation.
With a penetration rate of around 1 percent of gross domestic product, the overall Middle Eastern insurance sector lags mature markets but its huge growth potential has already attracted global heavyweights such as AXA and Allianz.
However, the sector’s regulatory framework is transforming rapidly and some multinationals remain cautious in developing their Islamic product offering, giving domestic competitors such as Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Saudi’s Tawuniya and Qatar Insurance Company the chance to build a dominant position.
Within insurance, the life segment and takaful in particular holds the biggest potential in the region. Premium income in life insurance in Saudi Arabia, for example, soared 61 percent last year, boosted by strong demand for sharia-compliant products, while non-life grew 25 percent according to Swiss Re’s “World insurance in 2009” report.

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).

The first Sharia-compliant insurance company in Kenya has been formed as the race for Islamic cash intensifies.
The firm, which will operate as Gulf Takaful Company Ltd, is being fronted by GulfCap Investments — the principal shareholder in Gulf African Bank.
Under the model, people seeking insurance cover will pay premiums to a collective fund from which payments will be made to members who suffer from the risks covered.
But unlike conventional insurance practice, the new insurance model, known in Islamic parlance as Takaful, is both an investment offering as much as it covers members.
Gulf African Bank will act as the fund manager for the insurance company, earning fees for its services to the insurance scheme.
Analysts say that by introducing Sukuk, the government could diversify the base of investors bidding for government debt papers, given the cash flush investors from the East who have shown interest in Africa as an investment destination.

A key joint venture of Qatar Islamic Insurance Company in Pakistan has in collaboration with a local bank and FWU AG launched lucrative Shariah-compliant long-term savings schemes.
Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited has inked a deal in Karachi with Dawood Islamic Bank Limited and FWU AG to provide bank customers long-term savings plans enabling them to secure their future financially.
According to the strategic agreement, Dawood Islamic Bank would distribute Shariah compliant Bancassurance (BancaTakaful) products across its branch network.
The agreement was signed by CEO Pak-Qatar Family Takaful P Ahmed, and Pervez.
These products will provide DIB’s customers with Long term Savings plans specifically catered to fulfil their future financial needs.

Because of market developments and increasing competition which has led to product innovation and diversity, the Prudential Financial Policy Department of Bank Negara Malaysia has reviewed the regulatory framework for insurance and Takaful products "to further enhance consumer protection while according greater flexibility for insurers and Takaful operators to respond to changing market conditions, both in managing risks and enhancing their competitiveness".
The guidelines, stressed Bank Negara, which is also the insurance and Takaful regulator in Malaysia, aim to improve the time-to-market for insurance companies and Takaful operators to introduce new products; to promote sound risk management practices in managing and controlling product risk; and to further strengthen the duty of care owed to consumers in ensuring that products developed and marketed are appropriate to the needs, resources and financial capability of targeted consumer segments.

Steuerliche Würdigung im nationalen und internationalen Kontext

Der Markt Islamic Finance wächst rasant und umfasst bereits heute ein erhebliches Anlagevolumen. Demgegenüber besteht ein großer Kapitalbedarf in der europäischen, speziell auch in der deutschen Realwirtschaft ebenso wie ein Bedarf an Investoren.

Bei der Umsetzung von Islamic-Finance-Vertragsmodellen kann die Besteuerung im Einzelfall eine ausschlaggebende Rolle spielen. Daher erläutert die Autorin in diesem Buch für ausgewählte schariakonforme Finanzierungs- und Anlageformen zunächst die Scharia-Rahmenbedingungen der jeweiligen Vertragsmodelle aus deutscher rechtlicher, ertragsteuerlicher und verkehrsteuerlicher Sicht. Die steuerlichen Fragestellungen werden anhand von Beispielen im grenzüberschreitenden Corporate Bereich im Schnittpunkt von deutschem internationalem Steuerrecht und ausländischem Steuerrecht der weiteren beteiligen Staaten verdeutlicht.

Inhalt

* Einleitung
* Grundzüge von Islamic-Finance-Vertragsmodellen
- eigenkapitalbasierte („Musharaka“ und „Mudaraba“),
- fremdkapitalbasierte („Murabaha“ und „Tawarruq“) sowie

ResearchGATE is the largest social network for academic research globally. Dedicated social profiles of researchers allow to enter academic careers, published articles in journals and books, announce fields of research for international exchange just to name a few of the features.

IslamicFinance.de took another effort to create a dedicated group and invite researchers globally to use this platform and foster research in Islamic finance. The last academic initiative taken was to sponsor and start a full fledged platform for the Islamic Finance WIKI, the online encyclopedia.

Researchers are invited to participate in these initiatives.

Please visit:
http://www.researchgate.net/group/Islamic_Finance/

Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Lagos, has established Islamic Insurance (Takaful) division to offer insurance products and services to the huge Moslem population in Nigeria, the chairman of the company, Adetokumbo Sulaiman, has said. The managing director of the company, Livingston Magorimbo, noted that the life insurance businesses of Cornerstone grew by 136 percent last year. He attributed the growth to product innovation, channel diversification and service excellence.