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Russell Indexes and IdealRatings have introduced the Russell-IdealRatings Islamic Index Series, a newly enhanced index series for Shariah investors. These new indexes benefit Shariah multi-asset investors by combining the experience and methodology of the Russell Global Indexes with the Shariah oversight of IdealRatings. The latter includes specific sector- and financial-based filters. It also includes monitoring and approval by a board of Islamic scholars. The new Islamic Index Series is fully modular and covers approximately 3,100 securities in 48 countries.

Morocco's central bank has started talks with a body of Islamic scholars on establishing a central sharia board to oversee the country's fledgling Islamic finance industry. The board, composed of scholars and financial experts, would rule on whether instruments and activities complied with sharia principles. Moreover, the government plans to submit to parliament a bill regulating Islamic banks, which will be called participative banks under the legislation. Parliament's vote is expected by the last week of April.

Saudi Electricity Co has chosen Deutsche Bank and HSBC Holdings to schedule meetings with fixed income investors from Europe and North America for possible debt agreements. The meetings would be considered as road shows, with the first to be held on March 19 in Los Angeles, CA and would end in London, UK by March 25 of this year. After these road shows, a dollar denominated bond issue would then follow depending on market conditions.

Melbourne has been named as the host of the 2014 ethical bank conference, organised by the Global Alliance of Banking on Values (GABV). The conference will be hosted by Australian owned bankmecu and will be attended by 22 of the world’s leading sustainable banks. bankmecu Managing Director Damien Walsh said that these annual meetings provide an opportunity to discuss the role and responsibilities of banks and how they can contribute to a more sustainable world and a social economy. The carbon neutral event will have the theme of leadership in banking and will be held in March 2014.

According to the executive president of Oman's central bank, Hamood Sangour al Zadjali, the country has no plans to allow foreign Islamic lenders to set up operations in the sultanate. Opportunity will be given to local banks first to see how the market develops. He mentioned that they will observe the market for two to three years and then decide whether to add more banks or not. Currently, two Islamic banks and six Islamic banking windows are operating in Oman.

Al Hilal Bank plans to issue a debut Islamic bond worth $500 million in the third quarter of this year, according to its chief executive Mohamed Berro. The bank aims to fund growth, diversify its balance sheet, and benchmark the bank in on the debt market. Al Hilal Bank mandated National Bank of Abu Dhabi, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank for the issue. Furthermore, the bank expects to obtain a credit rating in the coming two or three months.

Ministry of Finance's Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Mr. Yusuf Abdullah Humood said that the Bahraini private sector should benefit from the services provided by the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC). The corporation's benefits include support of exports and provision of services to exporters, banks, investors and other economic establishments. Moreover, the influx of overseas investments is increased and the necessary insurance for new projects and exports of goods is provided. Last year, the ICIEC approved to cover 6 projects of Bahraini investors and banks at the value of USD 273 million.

More than 100 West Yorkshire Muslims attended an event in Bradford which focused on Islamic finance. The networking dinner was organised by the Professional Muslim Institute and sponsored by the Islamic Bank of Britain plc and Ummah Financial, two of West Yorkshire’s leading Islamic finance providers. Guest speaker was Imam Qari Asim, senior Imam at Leeds Makkah Mosque.

Mark Mobius will lead the Templeton Shariah Asian Growth Fund that is to be launched at the end of this month by investment house Franklin Templeton. The initial seed capital of the fund is $5mn. Mobius expects the sector to grow significantly in the coming years. Franklin Templeton is also launching a Global Sukuk Fund, with $20mn of seed money to invest in Islamic bonds, and a Shariah Global Equity Fund, with $5mn of initial capital.

KFH-Research issued a report that stated that Iran's Islamic banking assets contributed 42.7% of the total global Islamic banking assets in 2012, followed by PGCC (34.1%) and Malaysia (10.0%). The report expected that Islamic banking will continue to grow in the PGCC region during this year, and that it will manage to enter new markets worldwide, driven by growth factors and increasing demand. Islamic banking assets are expected to reach USD 1.5 trillion by end of this year with an accumulative growth rate of up to 20%. Islamic banking represents the largest market share (80.3%) in the Islamic finance total assets.

Many advocates of Islamic banking suggest using gold as a replacement for the money created through the interest rate mechanism. While Islamic banks could be allowed to use gold deposits (by way of selling gold for cash), they must return the depositors’ gold or keep it for safe custody. Furthermore, Islamic banks can not extend credit to their customers as they will not be able to use the depositors’ gold (by selling it for cash) to offer financing to those who may need it. This will, in turn, have implications for economic growth. It is important that the governments take a proactive role in implementing this proposal. As the government of Malaysia is developing tools for liquidity management for Islamic banks, gold dinar may not be an entirely abstruse concept.

Barwa Bank Group (BBG) recently held its “Business Excellence” awards ceremony to honour the group’s best performers. The awards have been established to recognise the effort and contribution of employees and to motivate and inspire the team. The initiative is part of a commitment to training and development by the bank management to empower staff and ensure that Barwa Bank Group continues to be a major contributor to the financial services sector in Qatar and the region.

In a statement to the Kuwait Stock Exchange KIB has revealed plans to swap its 8.56 per cent stake in Warba Insurance for the latter firm’s 33.6 per cent stake in Ritaj Takaful Insurance.The deal, which requires Central Bank approval would see KIB’s stake in the Shari’ah-compliant insurer rise to 73.6 per cent. The bank said it was divesting the Warba Insurance stake because the firm is not Shari’ah compliant.

Prince Charles of Wales visited the headquarters of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday. OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu welcomed Prince Charles, and informed him about the activities of OIC aiming at scaling up food, energy and water security programmes in the OIC member states. The Secretary General and Prince Charles agreed on the need for regular exchange of views and information on energy and water issues.

London-based Gatehouse Bank plc (Gatehouse) has completed the acquisition of a 163,000 sq ft, state of the art office building in Salt Lake City, Utah. The deal is expected to return a stable and healthy yield over the investment period. The property is 100% leased to theGeneral Services Administration (GSA) for a fixed term of 20 years. The Class-A office building has been built specifically to meet the critical security requirements of the tenant. Gatehouse Bank was assisted by Arch Street Capital Advisors and sister company GSH in this transaction.

Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain announced the launch of its 'Fursan Baytik' employees' recognition award, which aims to honor and appreciate the achievements of employees in the Bank. It is based on a set of criteria that considers their achievements both during work and in their own time such as reliability, teamwork and effectiveness as well as social responsible activities. Mr. Yaqoub Majed, the Chairman of KFH-Bahrain honored the first three employees to receive the award during the annual staff gathering.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd has provided scholarship worth more than Tk 1.85 million to the poor and meritorious students of Kurmitola High School recently under its corporate social responsibility activities. Chairman of the Bank Badiur Rahman handed over the scholarship cheques to the students. The ceremony was addressed by founder Chairman of the Bank Alhajj A Z M Shamsul Alam among others.

The real-estate arm of Qinvest, the Qatari investment bank will focus on the United States and its home market and avoid Europe this year. This is because competition makes the European market tougher. With targeted returns of up to 6 percent and over, the bank's plan is to focus on assets in U.S. retail - such as single-tenant units on New York City's Fifth Avenue - and in the less liquid and less crowded Qatari market. Qinvest is in the process of taking over Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes , though regulators have yet to approve the deal.

In 2009 and 2010, one survey found that 97 percent of people in Russia who were mainly Muslim or from an Islamic background were interested in using an Islamic bank. Of that 97 percent, 40 reside in Moscow. Though not formally allowed to be practiced in America or Russia, it's still growing at an annual rate of around 15 to 20 percent. However, there are still a few roadblocks to clear before Islamic finance can achieve its true potential in Russia. Islamic banking regulations and laws have to be introduced, then job creation, investment diversification, and foreign investment could serve to give the Russian economy a boost.

Kuwait Intl Bk is planning to swap its 8.56% Stake in Warba for 33.6% of Islamic Insurer Ritaj Takaful Insurance Co. The Islamic commercial bank said in a statement posted on the Kuwait bourse website on Wednesday that it has decided to exit its interest in Warba.