IslamicFinance.de

Increasing number of defaults will lead to test the legal framework and stability of the Islamic finance structures in centres such as Dubai, Bahrain and Malaysia. Judges will have to weigh conventional law and sharia (Islamic law) used in contracts, and legal uncertainty over key contract provisions could hurt the industry's ability to bounce back when the global economy recovers. The industry will be watching to ensure any legal disputes are settled in a transparent manner which gives certainty to the contract terms entered into, said Davide Barzilai, a London-based Islamic finance lawyer with Norton Rose.

The presentation is in German only.

Am 10. April wurde in der Volkshochschule Bielefeld in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bündnis Islamischer Gemeinden ein Vortrag zur Wirtschaftskrise aus islamischer Sicht gehalten.

Die Präsentation wird hier als PDF Dokument zum Herunterladen angeboten. Die lebhafte Diskussion zu den einzelnen Punkten islamischer Finanzwirtschaft, Wirtschaftstheorie und Empfehlungen zur Wirtschaftskrise enthält sie leider nicht.

Beginning of May the OIC Member States' Stock Exchanges Forum took place in Teheran, which was themed: enhancing cooperation among the Islamic countries' Exchanges.

Ayah el Said and Rachel Ziemba discussed risk management considerations comparing stress testing in conventional finance and the Islamic finance industry on RGEMonitor.

For Islamic financial institutions, a plausible scenario means factoring in possible contractions in several of the economies that have been the centers for Islamic finance as well as significant asset market corrections which would weaken the balance sheets of Islamic financial institutions. A stress scenario should factor in at least another 40% drop in property prices in Dubai and considerable drops in other markets. The increased risks of investment losses on the one hand, and rising non-performing loans on the other, adds to the vulnerability of Islamic banks.

At the 6th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Summit on 7 May, MAS announced that it has issued a set of Guidelines on the Application of Banking Regulations to Islamic Banking. The Guidelines consolidate the various regulations and clarifications which MAS has issued, and offers specific information on the regulatory treatment of various Islamic structures. This set of Guidelines will provide greater clarity and certainty for financial institutions offering Islamic banking products in Singapore.

MAS has also issued two regulations clarifying that, with immediate effect, Singapore-based banks may enter into Diminishing Musharaka financing and Spot Murabaha transactions. In addition, MAS has ensured equal tax, regulatory and liquidity treatment of the Singapore dollar sukuk with Singapore Government Securities, effective immediately. Taken together, these various changes will allow banks to conduct a wide range of Islamic financing activities, and to have greater flexibility in structuring instruments to meet their risk management needs.

Please view the Guidelines here:

Paul Rosenberg and Hala Matar Choufany are giving in a contribution to 4hoteliers a set of criteria for Sharia compliant hotels, distinguishing it from merely alcohol free, "dry" hotels:

In order for a hotel to be fully Sharia-compliant, it is extremely important that most of the facilities (such as floors, spa, gym and guest and function rooms) be separate for males and females. This is especially significant at the development stage when designing floor plans of the hotel. Beds and toilets should not be placed in the direction of Mecca.

Neither alcohol nor pork should be served in any of the food and beverage outlets at the hotel and there should be no minibar in the rooms.

See full article for more details as below.

HSBC launches its Amanah Islamic banking services in Mauritius, being the first Islamic window provider. The new services is primarily for international business clients in the offshore sector. Local clients may follow later.

Sandeep Uppal is the CEO of HSBC in Mauritius.

International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) held its 20th board meeting and discussed the achievement of last year, the Master Agreements for Treasury Placement (MATP), and the new project of the IIFM-ISDA "Tahawwut" (Hedging) Master Agreement.

The objective of IIFM is to take part in the establishment, development and promotion of Islamic Capital and Money Market (ICMM). IIFM's primary focus lies in the advancement and unification of Islamic financial documents, structures, contracts, instruments, infrastructure and recommendations for the enhancement of IC

Press Release

DUBAI, April 30, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said it had placed the ratings on the following Dubai-based government-related entities (GREs) on CreditWatch with negative implications: DIFC Investments LLC, DP World Ltd., Jebel Ali Free Zone (FZE), the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC), Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC (DHCOG), and Emaar Properties PJSC (collectively, "the Rated GREs"). In addition, we placed the notes issued by Thor Asset Purchase (Cayman) Ltd. (Thor), which are securitized by cash flows from a revolving pool of existing and future receivables originated by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA; not rated), as well as the notes issued by JAFZ Sukuk Ltd. (collectively, "The Notes"), on CreditWatch with negative implications (see Ratings List below).

High Financing Costs May Crimp Future Issuance Of Project And Infrastructure Sukuk In The Gulf

LONDON, April 28, 2009--The global slowdown, along with local macroeconomic factors, appears to have curtailed the anticipated growth of sukuk (including those for infrastructure and project finance) in the Gulf region, says a report published by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services titled "Islamic Sukuk Come Of Age In Infrastructure And Project Finance." What's more, investor appetite for these instruments may continue to be adversely affected by the high costs of financing, predominantly local investor appeal, a real estate downturn, hydrocarbon prices, and accounting issues.

Dear Reader,

Just reading an article how much the UAE economy needs the small and medium sized companies and how much difficulties they face to be financed by banks:

http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2009/4/pages/26042009/04272009_46940...

One issue I missed in this article:

Not a word mentions the role of cooperative / mutual banks or the saving & loans; both financial institutions, which are non profit by its bylaws but dedicated to their members or region. This sector has about 50 % of the total banks balance sheet in my home country Germany, where small and medium sized companies are the backbone of the economy.

So, what is missing in the GCC desperately is setting up cooperative banks and regional saving banks - both can be done Islamically.

Various experts were interviewed and confirmed the need for special banks addressing the needs of small and medium sized companies in the UAE.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will seek a mandate from its trustees to examine the degree of sharia financial products' compliance with its 40 standards, its secretary-general, Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, said according to Liau Y-Sing from Reuters.

Lack of common standards makes it difficult to sell products across borders, while possibly enhancing innovation.

Faisal Private Bank's Chief Executive, Marco Rochat, said the absence of a global set of harmonised rules on sharia compliance created an unlevel playing field, reported Martin de Sa'Pinto on Reuters. Faisal Private Bank adivses on nearly USD 500 mn.

A lack of legislation is seriously hampering domestic issues of Sukuk in Kuwait, forcing companies to go abroad, Abdulkader Thomas, president of consultancy Shape Financial Corp said to Ulf Laessing and Raissa Kasolowsky published on Reuters. A ministerial decree allowing sukuk issued in 2007 was not adequate for the market to flourish, Thomas said. Saudi Arabia would also have to overhaul its legislation for its sukuk market to function more effectively.

The Investment Dar announces that the release of its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2008 has been delayed as a result of additional reporting requirements from the Company's subsidiaries and associates. The Company has been in dialogue with the Kuwaiti regulatory authorities regarding this issue.

As of 1 April 2009, the Kuwait Stock Exchange suspended trading in the companie's shares until further notice as a result of the postponement of the release of its full year financial results for the year ended 31 December 2008. The same action was taken for a number of other Kuwait Stock Exchange listed companies.

International finance structures must be drastically overhauled in the face of the current global economic crisis, a panel of experts convened by the United Nations General Assembly chaired by Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics said.

The expert panel made a number of suggestions to support developing nations and creating an international infrastruture for the global markets led by the United Nations.

The panel included Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia.

I just published an article with the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes Newsletter, giving an overview about the lines of arguments regarding performance and ethical screens, be it Islamic or Sustainability and what empiricial findings have been published.

It is claimed by critics that the reduction of the universe through ethical screens shall reduce the performance, likewise corporate social responsiblity comes against a cost. Similar counterarguments have been raised regarding Islamic screening criteria.

Bank Sarasin published a study doing own research with partners and reviewing published empirical analyses in the literature. It shows that there is no negative impact on performance. My review of empirical analyses in regard to Islamic finance concluded the same and all publications let conclude that ethical screens add value by way of risk management. An example is the debt limitation of the Sharia tolerance criteria.

Ethical screens may therefore improve the investment decision process and more research shall determine, which factors add value to the portfolio and therefore form part of a professional process.

Inovest (previously Al Khaleej Development Company – Tameer), a Bahrain-based shariah compliant investment company, has launched a new water technology venture in partnership with a US company.

The project size is USD 32 mn, from which USD 24 mn will be the net equity, and USD 7.2 mn is being subscribed by Inovest and its technology partner.

The product launch is subject to approval from Central Bank of Bahrain and other statutory approvals, the company added

Inovest CEO is Dr. Khalid Abdulla.

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Bursa Malaysia’s regulated platform has not finalised the precise structure yet. But according to Bursa Malaysia CEO Yusli Mohamed Yusoff Short-selling is perceived as an essential ingredient for capital markets to perform efficiently.