IslamicFinance.de

SHUAA Capital and National Bonds Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a strategic alliance.
SHUAA Capital will provide financial advisory, brokerage, and investment management services to National Bonds Corporation in the UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa region. Both alliances will launch a number of initiatives to develop their respective customer bases and further National Bonds's mission of promoting a culture of savings in the UAE and wider GCC.

The government of Gabon wants to change its financial laws to allow Islamic finance, in order to bring together Shari'ah compliant FDI as part of the economic reforms it is currently implementing.
As part of the planned reforms in the financial law, the country recently held a conference to find out how Islamic finance can gain consciousness across the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC).

The Second Annual Islamic Finance Forum will gather investors, borrowers and regulators in the same place to accomplish a better understanding of existing instruments of Islamic Finance and to find answers to problems encountered frequently in the course of doing business.
The forum delegates is amde of representatives from the Embassies of UAE, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and other countries.

Oasis Group Holdings is the developer of Shariah-compliant asset management, retirement and investment fund products in South Africa since it launched its first Islamic fund in August 1998, the Oasis Crescent Global Equity Fund.
In the last few years, the group has taken a chance abroad and now aspires to build the first global Shariah-investment fund brand, complete with a global distribution capability and a global asset management capacity.
It also seems that it is in the process of opening an office in London to spearhead its operations in the UK and EU market, which as a Muslim population of 2.8 million and 12 million respectively.

Through the acquisition of the local Islamic insurance company, Takafol SA, by Absa, it is once more underlined that the mainstream banks in South Africa are taking Islamic finance as a serious niche market business.
The Takaful premium market in South Africa is at this point estimated at about 3 billion South African rands (about $420 million), which is very modest compared to the conventional insurance market.
Banks such as Absa and Standard Bank posess clear strategies of growth and expansion beyond South Africa to sub-Saharan Africa, and Islamic banking and insurance are an attractive component of this offering especially in countries with large and affluent Muslim populations.

The 2nd Quarter 2011 issue of the Malaysian ICM quarterly bulletin published by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is now available online at:
http://www.sc.com.my/eng/html/icm/11_2Q_msianicm.pdf

Absa Insurance Company Limited (AIC)'s agreement with Takafol SA (Pty) Limited (Takafol SA) further binds the group's ability to launch into Africa. The statement was given by Edwyn O'Neill, who is the Managing Director of AIC.
Absa Group underlined the fact that a larger presence on the continent was on their mind. It seems that the growing earnings on the African continent is very important for the banking group.

Mohammad Yahya Maroufi, secretary general of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), revealed that his organization has agreed to certify a bank to promote economic cooperation with banks in the Islamic countries.
He added that the plans include to open a trade market for its member states.
The ECO curent members are: Islamic Republic of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Amanie Advisors opened a new office in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, having as purpose to captalise on the considerable business potential in Egypt and North Africa advising bankers and fund managers.
Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar is administring the Amanie Advisors group.
Dr. Bakar is also the Chairman of Shariah Advisory Board of Central Bank of Malaysia and Securities Commission of Malaysia as well a member of Shariah board of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI); Morgan Stanley (Dubai); Noor Islamic Bank and Takaful (Dubai); Bank of London and Middle East (London); and Jadwa-Rusell Islamic Funds (Riyad), amongst others.

Takafol will become part of Absa Islamic Banking and perform under the name Absa Takafol.
Amman Muhammad, Managing Director of Absa Islamic Banking, stated that Absa Takafol will look at the way they expand their service offering beyond banking and provide customers with an unparalleled Islamic value proposition.
It seems that the possible market for Takaful products in South Africa has been estimated at ZAR 3 billion ($412 million).

It seems that Pakistan is planning to take advantage of 36% annual growth in the nation’s Islamic banking assets by resuming sales of sukuk to lenders.

Although FCB Capital, Kenya's first Shari'ah compliant Islamic investment bank, has carried out a modest amount of business in its first year of operations, it has prooved that East Africa has an appetite for Islamic finance.
The bank's results for the first six months show that it has only just begun receiving income in the last six months, mostly in administration and advisory fees. Their total income was $144,400.

Meezan Bank from Pakistan has accomplished the country's first short-term Sukuk deal.
The PKR1.5bn ($17.3m) Sukuk was launched by KAPCO (Kot Addu Power Company Ltd), Pakistan's largest power company. It means a six month Musharakah and a Shari'ah compliant alternative to conventional short-term paper.

It seems that Nigeria has turn into a battleground for Islamic finance. Some lines from the recent newspapers are:
Islamic Banking: Muslims Ready to go to War
Islamic Banking: Insult to Nigeria — Cleric
Stop Islamic Banking in Nigeria
Christian groups oppose establishment of Islamic Banking
Islamic Banking: Christian groups may apply for own licence

Meezan Bank had a huge influx of funds this year and Muhammad Asad, executive vice president and chief investment officer of Al Meezan Investment Management, stated that it is because of the Government of Pakistan's Sukuk program, which has enjoyed enormous local demand. He added that the sukuk enjoyed high levels of demand because it is tradable and offers competitive returns to the investors.
At this point Al Meezan is Pakistan's largest private sector asset management company.

Kenya Reinsurance Corporation is searching to raise its revenue growth to more than the 13% it enjoyed in the first half of this year by diversifying into the Islamic space.
The fact that in East Africa a Shari'ah compliant reTakaful operation will be launched, should let Kenya Re trap the business of Kenya's Takaful Insurance of Africa, as well as that of conventional insurers that have opened up Islamic windows, such as Canon Assurance.

Alhaji Sani Aminu Dutsinma is a financial analyst and politician and the former State Co-ordinator of poverty eradication programme in Katsina State. He gives his strong oppinion about Islamic banking and other issues related to Nigeria's economic policies.
He states that non-interest banking is a universal concept of banking which has been introduced for more than six to seven decades ago. He also underlined the fact that there were some few obstacles within the Banking and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Act then which restricted naming a bank Islamic, Christian, biblical or Qur'anic. He affirms that the idea was to build a bank that is in conformity with what is being practiced in USA, UK, Saudi Arabia and South Africa and over 75 countries around the world today.

Standard Bank wants to begin haria-compliant banking in Nigeria this year to benefit from the needs of Africa’s largest Muslim population.
The west African country has as competitors Senegal, Egypt and South Africa, all looking to expand in the $1 trillion (R7.1 trillion) Islamic finance industry.
Central bank governor Lamido Sanusi stated in June that Nigeria wanted to be a “hub” for sharia-compliant finance in the region and planned to sell its first sukuk, or Islamic bond, within 18 months.

Path Solutions stated that Jaiz International Bank has chosen iMAL to achieve growth objectives and future plans. Jaiz International Bank is the first licensed Islamic bank in Nigeria. The bank's offer would be corporate banking, housing finance, car finance, retail banking products as well as other services that conform with the tenets of Islam.
The new agreement underlines the leading position of Path Solutions in the nascent West African Islamic banking market.

The awash with Tawarruq deals as Islamic finance institutions, starvation of wealth creating opportunities and liquidity in the local market will allow East Africa to transact with the conventional financial sector.
Kenya's two existing Islamic banks, the Shari'ah compliant windows of conventional banks in East Africa and Takaful firms are constantly exploiting the Tawarruq window.
Abdalla Abulkhalik Sheikh, general manager and acting CEO of Gulf African Bank in Kenya, stated that they are using Tawarruq until the government will allow trading of Sukuk.