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The IFSB said the National Bank of Tajikistan, Prudential Hong Kong, along with Malaysia-based OCBC Al Amin Bank and the Islamic reinsurance unit of Germany's Munich Re will join as "observer" members,

Satellite operator Yahsat has announced that it has secured the first Shariah-compliant insurance policy for space operations.

Press Release

Today sees the launch of a new Journal on Islamic finance from dedicated Islamic finance media entity Yasaar Media.

The Journal, called So Far – the Journal of Strategic Thinking in Islamic Finance, is written and edited by members of an Islamic finance Think Tank and is modelled on traditional academic journals. The difference with So Far is that the members of the Think Tank are predominantly practitioners rather than academics.
Member of the Think Tank are drawn from the ranks of committed Islamic finance professionals around the world and range from the Gulf and the Far East to the USA and Europe.

Each issue of So Far is dedicated to a single topic of core importance to the Islamic finance industry – and the launch issue looks at the thorny issue of the problems facing the Sukuk market. Unlike many other journals So Far is distributed free in PDF format and is available from a variety of sources including Yasaar Media thus guaranteeing maximum readership and exposure.

The opening Keynote Plenary session at The 5th Annual World Takaful Conference (WTC 2010) will feature take-home strategies by leading industry decision makers, testimony of the overall significance of the forum in shaping the future of the global Takaful industry.

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Rapid growth among Saudi Arabia's Islamic insurers will benefit the domestic bond market but bypass dollardenominated issues due to regulations that keep insurers' investment close to home, experts and executives said.

Strong growth in the takaful, or insurance industry has underpinned hopes it will give a boost to the market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk.

Insurers are important investors in conventional fixed income markets, but sukuk have been mostly bought by Western investors such as hedge funds and banks.

Rapid growth among Saudi Arabia's Islamic insurers will benefit the domestic bond market but bypass dollardenominated issues due to regulations that keep insurers' investment close to home, experts and executives said.

Emirates Global Islamic Bank has launched a BancaTakaful product ‘Sarparast Family Takaful Plan’ in collaboration with Pak-Qatar Family Takaful and FWU AG a global facilitator of BancaTakaful.

Legal & General Gulf Takaful B.S.C (c), a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Gulf B.S.C (c), a joint venture between UK-based Legal & General Group Plc and Ahli United Bank Group (AUB), announced the launch of its retail business in Bahrain.

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has signed an agreement with Noor Takaful according to which the Bank will offer Noor Takaful Motor Takaful Insurance to all SIB customers through its network of 23 branches. This strategic partnership will enable SIB customers to access Noor Takaful's motor insurance plans for their currently owned or newly purchased sedans and 4x4s at preferential rates and with minimum documentation.

"Takafulhous" subsidiary of Mawarid Finance, the leading Islamic insurance company in Dubai, announced appointment of the new CEO Mr. Ayman Yousif Al Ajmi.

CIMB Wealth Advisors Bhd aims to secure RM25 million premium this year from insurance and takaful products, chief executive officer Tan Beng Wah said on Monday.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has launched a comprehensive accidental death and disability insurance plan offered at a very affordable annual premium, a statement said.

Noor Takaful, the Islamic Insurance provider, today launched its suite of Individual Family products with flexible protection, investment, and savings takaful plans to cater to the national and expatriate residents of the UAE. The introduction of the new products coincides with the first anniversary of the company’s inauguration and demonstrates its commitment to innovatively meeting the unique needs of the UAE market.

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

Methaq Takaful Insurance is planning new Takaful products that will be launched in 2010, Dr Omar Fisher, advisor to the board of the firm said at a meeting of insurance broker partners. The article did not clarify what type of products are foreseen.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Generali and Beema have reached an agreement to assess the feasibility of the future launch of a joint venture in the Takaful business. The agreement aims at creating a partnership that will draw upon the insurance technical skills of the Generali Group combined with the market knowledge and distribution capabilities of QIB, together with the skills of Beema in the Takaful business.