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Oman's non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) posted decent growth in income and profits in 2012. And analysts believe that the sector will see strong growth in 2013 on the back of project and infrastructure spending by the government. An analysis of the six listed NBFCs shows that aggregate income rose 11.94 per cent to RO65.30mn in 2012, while their combined net profit rose 17 per cent to RO24.14mn. NBFCs expect some competition for the leasing sector from Islamic banks, especially in auto financing.

Several industry sectors, led by the banking and financial segment, are set to increase hiring due to large-scale projects announced recently in the country. Sectors that are expected to see strong hiring this year are banks, oil & gas, and petrochemicals as well as construction and real estate, according to leading recruitment advisors. The National Career Exhibition will showcase employment and training opportunities at more than 100 leading financial institutions in the country. It will be held from February 20 to 22, 2013 at Expo Centre Sharjah. The admission is restricted to UAE Nationals only.

Faced with lean pickings, savers are advised to review their options wisely. One way to make cash generate the best return is exploring the available accounts and the interests paid, including e-saver accounts and certificates of deposits. Moreover, debts should be paid off in order not to spend on high interests. Some banks also offer special savings schemes or award prizes, that can help to increase the wealth. Last but not least, looking overseas for high interest rates can be a good option, but currency risk and conversion charges need to be considered here.

Al Khonji Real Estate & Development (Aqar) signed today that it has hired the services of Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), to advice and supervise its future course of actions and transactions in light of Shari'a principles. Mohamed Al Khonji, Chairman/CEO, said that it has decided to spread its wings in the real estate market while ensuring it is truly Shari'a compliant. The assignment of Shariyah Review Bureau is expected to help developing an enterprise-wide Shari'a compliant framework, which will cover compliance with Islamic finance across all function streams in Aqar.

Developer Nakheel is in talks to extend 8 billion dirhams ($2.18 billion) in loans due in 2015, according to its chairman Ali Rashid Lootah. The bank loans under consideration include 6.76 billion dirhams in secured facilities provided by, among others, Dubai's biggest bank Emirates NBD as well as 470 million dirhams in unsecured facilities, all due in 2016. Nakheel reported a 57-percent rise in annual profit in January. It also made interest and profit payments of around 800 million dirhams to lenders last year and has paid around 10 billion dirhams to various trade creditors and contractors since the start of its debt restructuring.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken a positive approach to the suggestion of an alternative banking system for Muslims after K. Rahman Khan, Minister for Minority Affairs, emphasized that it was the duty of the State to facilitate every citizen to practice and follow his/her religion. The RBI Governor pointed to the need for certain amendments to the laws concerned. The Minister said, in India the biggest issue was who should regulate the proposed alternative system, as it needed a strong monitoring mechanism. He added that concrete efforts should be made, such as setting up an expert committee to draw up a framework of an alternative banking system, along with a strong legal system to back it.

There has been growing interest recently among conventional banks in Egypt who own licences to provide Sharia-compliant services, to restructure their branches which offer such services. Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and The Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC) are among the traditional banks that offer Sharia-compliant services. Meanwhile, Islamic banks themselves are preparing to apply their new investment plans. Financing for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has also seen a spike in interest so far this year, with conventional banks aiming to strike agreements with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in order to increase their presence within the SME segment.

Siti Aminah Hj Abd Rahman, senior officer in Wealth Management at Baiduri Bank, spoke during a financial planning forum at the Ministry of Finance. She said a person's expenditure and lifestyle should be based on his or her income and explained the four concepts of financial planning. She also urged participants to consider insurance to protect themselves and loved ones, and added that those who are looking into investing should make sure to study the investment. Takaful Brunei Keluarga Senior Executive Officer Noor Amal Fitriyah Abd Rahim, emphasized the importance of insurance during her speech and recommended to being prepared to settle and manage debts as part of financial planning.

Qatar-based Barwa Bank has become one of the top 10 underwriters of Arabian Gulf Islamic bonds within three years of opening and plans to seek a credit rating in the second half before a possible sukuk sale. The bank arranged US$863 million of notes in 2012, and is considering its own issuance of sukuk. In addition to sovereign clients, Barwa helped Dubai-based Emaar Properties and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank sell Islamic notes in 2012. The lender had assets of 21.5bn Qatari riyals at the end of June.

In Sudan, the convening of the 5th Islamic Financial Industry Forum is going to take place during the period April 25-26 under the theme "Role of Islamic financial institutions in funding economic development projects.” Many international and Islamic financial institutions have been invited to attend the forum, including Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Development Fund, Abu Dubai Development Fund, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development among others. Delegations representing the Oman Sultanate, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are expected to take part in this annual event which is organised by the Khartoum-based Bayan Centre for Islamic Financial Engineering.

The sukuk, which comes amid a period of high demand and a flurry of bond sales in the region, is to be launched by the end of April in the name of Dubai Investments Park, a major real estate development Dubai Investments owns on Dubai's outskirts.

The Takaful industry is growing but also facing certain challenges which include issues regarding re-Takaful, regulatory challenges, competition and lack of human capital. In order to overcome all these challenges and issues, Al Huda CIBE established a Takaful Consultancy Wing with consultant Captain Jamil Akhtar Khan. Khan has expertise on Takaful regulatory issues, establishment of Takaful companies and other related departments. Takaful Consultancy Wing will be an independent institution which will provide its services to other organizations for the establishment of new Takaful companies, research, advisory, training, re-Takaful, Shariah guidance and other Takaful related matters.

A group of mainly Malaysian academics and organizations published an advertisement in The Sun Daily asking Bank Islam Malaysia to lift its suspension of chief economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin. According to the 135 professionals, politicians and academics and 59 organizations, Azrul had given a professional opinion based on economics and that his academic freedom should be respected.

Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin, Bank Islam’s recently suspended chief economist, is a member of the party PKR. However, PKR vice-president Mohd Azmin Ali said that Azrul’s party membership was irrelevant to his recent prediction that Pakatan Rakyat would win the 13th general election and that the analysis he gave is a professional opinion based on strong figures. However, Bank Islam released a statement yesterday saying the suspension was unrelated to Azrul’s personal political views.

Leaders within the takaful insurance industry have predicted continued high rates of growth within the sector ranging between 15% to 20% over the next several years. This has enabled the sector to secure high profits as demand increases for financial services in Egypt’s banking industry. However, takaful insurance companies also suffer from many of the same problems plaguing commercial insurance companies, such as an overall decrease in the amount of salaries and wages, in addition to other factors associated with the general slowdown of Egypt’s economy. Since 2003, five takaful property insurance companies and three takaful life insurance companies have been established. These companies combined have come to represent nearly 30% of the Egyptian insurance market.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, reported a 24.3% jump in the net value of its investment portfolio in 2012, a profit before taxes of 2.1 billion ringgit, and a dividend payout to the Malaysian government of 1.0 billion ringgit. Khazanah cited its property development investments in Malaysia as well as initial public offerings by portfolio companies IHH Healthcare Berhad and cable-TV network Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad as factors contributing to its annual gains. In a separate announcement, Khazanah and Sun Life Financial Inc. announced plans to acquire insurance joint ventures CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad and CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad for C$586 million (US$594 million) from Aviva PLC. The deal is expected to close during the first half of 2013.

Talal Yassine, founder of Islamic investment fund Crescent Wealth, believes Australia's Muslim population offers growth potential for sharia-compliant financial products. Crescent Wealth's criteria exclude investing in banks or other financial stocks as well as companies that have investments in alcohol, gambling, pornography, arms or the production of pork. They also consider the companies' debt-to-asset ratio, receivables outstanding and levels of cash or liquid assets. Yassine believes Crescent Wealth will attract funds from the vast Muslim community in Malaysia, Indonesia and, potentially, China.

Al Rajhi Bank has launched a new online banking portal to provide its customers with online self-service tools. The new internet banking platform is built using Backbase's Bank 2.0 Portal technology and implemented by Al Rajhi's IT department in partnership with Thales. Backbase allows the banking client to be in control of their portal and makes it possible for Al Rajhi customers to customize their banking interface to their personal needs and preferences. For the e-business side, Backbase allows for cross- and up-sell capabilities along with the ability to target relevant content and functionality to the right customer segments and individual customers.

Ajman Bank generated net income of Dh33.5 million (US$9.1m) during last year, compared to profit of Dh6.9m a year earlier. However, Ajman's fourth-quarter profits fell 29.5 per cent to Dh8.3m. The bank did not provide detailed financial statements or an explanation of the drop in quarterly income. Ajman said its increase in income was mainly generated through corporate banking, lending to small and mid-sized businesses and treasury operations. The bank's revenues and shares rose as well.

Shariah-compliant exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which provide low-cost exposure to conventional equity markets while strictly adhering to Shariah investment principles, are benchmarked to indices that apply a series of trade activity and financial screens to weed out non-compliant companies. The screening process is typically overseen by leading Islamic scholars and results in a portfolio of securities in adherence with Shariah law. The major difference compared to conventional indices is the application of financial/leverage screens. By excluding companies with high levels of debt, the resultant portfolio has lower financial risk and superior credit fundamentals.