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Estee Lauder Companies' corporate responsibility report, The Beauty Of Responsibility, examines its impact on Earth by reviewing how it conducts business. In the environmental aspects, ELC’s priorities are to reduce its contribution to global climate change by conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its operations, as well as to recycle and reuse as many resources as possible. Every employee, brand and function within the company is encouraged to contribute to the sustainability and philanthropic efforts.

Achieving sustainability is the core of corporate social responsibility (CSR) worldwide, according to Tamkeen Company CEO Asya Al-Ashaikh. The focus is on interactions between the government and private sectors to boost CSR locally and create a Saudi CSR model, she added. Al-Ashaikh explained that CSR in the Kingdom needs to be led ideally by government entities. Moreover, CSR is not about donations and philanthropy but about corporates addressing socioeconomic and environmental issues based on their core competency, according to the Tamkeen CEO.

Warba Bank announced that it has made significant progress over the past year in building its portfolio of investments in the region and the world. During 2012, Warba Bank completed a series of successful investments in various investment sectors, e.g. the purchase of a property in New York which they developed into a multi - family residential complex. Through its investments, Warba Bank seeks to achieve high returns on investments and guarantee the rights of the Kuwaiti people who are the bank's shareholder.

Iraqi Islamic Bank (IIB) has completed the required capital increase set by the Central Bank of Iraq to a fully paid IQD 152 billion ($130 million). In line with its expansion policy, the Iraqi Islamic Bank will be opening its new north branch in northern of Iraq Erbil in April, taking the branch network to a total of 17. IIB was the first private Islamic Bank in Iraq, opening its doors in 1992.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has cancelled the Asset Management Licence of Dawood Capital Management Limited (DCML) and imposed a penalty of Rs20 million on its chief executive officer for providing “undue benefits” to his relatives and connected persons. The commission has also taken action against DCML’s chief financial controller/company secretary. The SECP found that the connected persons had made redemptions from different investment schemes before provisioning, and had averted imminent losses of Rs18.224 million.

Capital Intelligence has affirmed Qatar International Islamic Bank's (QIIB) Financial Strength Rating (FSR) at 'A-', on 'Stable' Outlook - reflecting the Bank's good capital adequacy, very strong liquidity and good loan asset quality. Ratings remain constrained by single name concentration risks in both financing and investment portfolios and by high exposure to real estate. Moreover, the Bank's relatively small balance sheet and market share remain rating constraining factors. The Bank's Long and Short-Term Foreign Currency (FC) Ratings are also affirmed at 'A-' and 'A2', respectively, on 'Stable' Outlook.

Turkey's Bank Asya has raised USD250m through a 10-year non-call five subordinated Islamic bond. The notes priced at par to yield 7.5%, in line with initial price thoughts of mid-seven percent. The issue carries a Ba3 rating by Moody's, one notch lower than Bank Asya's senior unsecured rating of Ba2. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Emirates NBD, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi are joint lead managers on the Reg S transaction.

Qatar's QInvest announced the launch of the QInvest Managed Account Platform (QMAP). QMAP is the world's first open architecture Sharia'a compliant managed account platform. It provides investors with the opportunity to select from a range of funds that are managed by professional teams. At QInvest 's Annual General Assembly, H.E. Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, QInvest 's Chairman, informed shareholders about the launch of the account platform that allows shareholders and investors to invest in asset classes such as mutual funds and hedge funds, managed by globally recognized investment managers.

The Sharia Supervisory Board of Meethaq conducted its first meeting of 2013 under the chairmanship of Shaikh Dr Ali Qaradaghi. The board inducted two new members — Abdulqader Thomas and Dr Saeed al Muharrami. The two experts in the field of Islamic banking will serve as non-Shari’a members and assist the Shari’a voting members, providing insights on various Islamic banking issues. The board reviewed Meethaq activities during 2012 and discussed the strategy for the coming period.

Sedco Capital, the Saudi Arabia-based asset manager, has launched an investment platform of Sharia-compliant funds aimed at high net worth investors and institutional investors. The Sedco Capital Global Funds platform, a Luxembourg Sicav, currently has a choice of seven investment funds with total assets under management of more than $1bn. The plan is for the platform to include over 15 funds totalling more than $1.6bn by the end of 2013.

Panelists at the 2nd Annual PPP Investment Summit called the new sukuk law ‘quantum leap’ towards introducing Sharia-compliant products to the Egyptian market. It was confirmed at the Summit that seventeen upcoming Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects will be financed using sukuk. The Ministry of Finance is considering using sukuk to finance a number of PPP projects including silos projects, developing roads, and the Ain Shams -10th of Ramadan city train line in order to link the industrial sites along the way. However, panelists explained that infrastructure projects require more than one method of financing and that there are various Islamic financing methods available.

The third edition of Saudi Corporate Social Responsibility Forum (CSRF) will be held in Jeddah from April 9-10.
The event is being organized by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) at the Park Hyatt Hotel.
The winner of the CSRF Award recognizing best practices and initiatives in social responsibility will be announced at the forum, which will have the participation of a number of senior government officials, experts and businessmen from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Arab world. The fórum is expected to review a number of key issues, especially the performance of Saudi companies in social responsibility programs.

Sustainable economic development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will depend on job creation, education, poverty alleviation, and careful environmental management. Companies have a particularly important role to play through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that align with national development objectives. In order to improve CSR as a discipline, companies and governments should follow a four-step process: Define CSR for the MENA Región, Study Current CSR Activity, Identify CSR Best Practices, and Create an Environment for CSR.

Creditors of bankrupt Arcapita say the investment bank should not be allowed to foot the legal bills of lawyers from Linklaters and Freshfields who ran a failed initial public offering last year of Arcapita's real estate assets. Arcapita has so far paid $1.5 million in professional fees associated with the IPO, but last month submitted court papers looking to pay another $6.8 million to Linklaters, $1.1 million for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and $2.76 million to KPMG, which served as auditor on the IPO effort. However, Arcapita's creditors argue that the IPO's failure prevented anyone from benefiting from the professionals' work. A hearing on the matter, initially scheduled for March 18, was postponed until April 30.

Dell discovered that Quest Software had supplied software maintenance to Melli Bank, subsidiary of Bank Melli in Iran. The maintenance occurred before Dell’s buyout of Quest. In a letter to the SEC, Dell disclosed Quest’s small but potentially worrisome banking engagement. It said that the company’s Form 10-K contained information about the business transaction worth US$169.90. Although not much, any dollar amount flowing to a technology company from a bank with ties to Iran could have raised some serious red flags. It's unclear what type of e-discovery software Dell used to uncover the business transaction.

Bank Syariah Mandiri is targeting its profit to increase 50 percent this year as it seeks to boost its branches across Indonesia. Yuslam Fauzi, president director of BSM, said that the lender aims to reach profit of Rp 1.2 trillion ($123.7 million) this year from Rp 800 billion last year. He added that the bank's assets also increased to Rp 55 trillion. However, shares of Bank Mandiri fell 0.5 percent to Rp 9,550 on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Friday.

In keeping with its slogan of 'the orange bank that thinks green,' Al Hilal Bank, a progressive Islamic bank, has pledged to switch off the lights in all of its branches and offices starting at 9 pm on March 23, 2013 in celebration of 'Earth Hour.' Al Hilal Bank will use the event as a platform to reaffirm its sustainability commitments and show its support for the environmental goals included in the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 development plan. The bank has engaged in various initiatives championing the environment under its 'Go Green' strategy.

Noor Awqaf, the joint venture between Noor Investment Group and the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF), have launched a humanitarian project that will give aid agencies around the world access to relief aid Halal meat at times of natural disasters and famine. In conjunction with Awqaf New Zealand, Noor Awqaf has forged links with New Zealand’s meat producers and processors to secure a robust supply chain of quality Halal meat for distribution by aid agencies at times of natural disasters or civil emergencies. The meat will be supplied to aid agencies in sealed pouches to ensure its edibility for two years.

The Securities and Exchanges Commission of Pakistan (SECP) revoked the licence of Dawood Capital Management and imposed a Rs20 million fine on its CEO Tara Uzra Dawood for insider trading. The SECP issued its order on Friday, after having conducted a nine-month investigation into the matter. According to the SECP’s findings, Dawood Capital Management had invested in corporate bonds issued by several companies that had defaulted on their obligations to bondholders. Dawood Capital Management said they are reviewing the order and reserve the right to appeal it.

Although there are some Islamic venture capital (VC) associations, VC funds and VC Banks, there's a lack of VC conferences, articles and high profile funds and investments in information, technology and communication or bio-technology. An opportunity exists for Islamic banks to deploy part of excessive proprietary risk capital to venture capital in financing some of the major concerns of the región, e.g. desert farming or alternative energy. Islamic finance must think about financing ventures beyond simple returns to depositors and shareholders, to include important local healthcare and the stewardship of the environment. In this manner, it can actually lead conventional finance in the region for invention and innovation.