IslamicFinance.de

Recently, the president of Iraq - Jalal Talibani - gave his apprval to the new law establishing a state-owned Islamic bank. The name of the bank is "The Islamic Bank of Mesopotamia." According to the law, the bank starts with an initial working capital of 50 billion Iraqi dinars (about $43 million). Resources developed by the bank itself can later be used to raise that sum. The law further states that the purpose of the bank is to provide financial and banking services which are to be in accordance with Islamic shari'a and the development of the Iraqi economy. The law marks the first public effort of the country's government to enter into the rapidly developing and expanding field of Islamic finance.

According to Fitch Ratings, the growth of sukuk issuance in 2013 will be ensured by strong demand, mainly in originator-backed (asset-based) sukuk structures. Expectations for 2012 global sukuk issuances are for them to reach USD121b. This is an increase of 62% compared to the USD84.4bn the year before. At the moment Malaysia is the only country where sukuk rating is mandatory. The rating is considered to play a significant part in improving the confidence in this growing instrument.

Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has given its final approval to the Islamic banking arm of Bank Muscat - Meethaq - to start full-fledged operations. The starting date of the bank's operations is January 21st. Meethaq will begin functioning as a bank with 150-million-rial capital at its disposal. The money is intended to be used to boost growth opportunities. A full suite of regulated Islamic banking products will be offered.

Bankers have an optimistic attitude towards a full-scale restructuring of the US$10 billion (Dh36.72bn) debts of Dubai Holding. They consider such a move to be imminent following the settlement of a legal action against a unit of the conglomerate. Four banks, one of which Royal Bank of Scotland, have reached an agreement on the terms of restructuring debts of Dubai Group, the financial arm of the holding company. This will include their dropping a controversial legal action against the Dubai company.

Islamic banking and loans without interest are the key to Indonesia's growth in the field of Islamic finance. A good example of such loans is the story of 50-year-old widow Nur Hanifah, who took out a Shariah-compliant loan from Bank Muamalat Indonesia in order to help finance a store on the ground floor of a shophouse. She does not pay interest but instead she must give the bank a certain percentage of her profit plus part of the principal each month. The percentage usually is about 40%. Hanifah explains that even when times are bad, she does not have any financial worries because then she does not have to pay anything compared to times when she has good profit.

Since the collaboration between the Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance and Haifx Consult is working properly, professionals mow have local access to global Islamic finance certification at subsidized rates. The partnership includes on-the-ground Islamic finance learning centers and mentorship programs. More than half of Nigeria's population of 150 million are Muslim, which explains the striving for growth in the field of Islamic finance in the country.

Nakhweh in Jordan works in the field of social entrepreneurship; seeking as NGO trying to make volunteerism popular (or at least simple) for Jordanian youth. Now, the site is pivoting into an entirely new era, relaunching as a comprehensive directory for social work in the Middle East and North Africa.

Under its Organizations tab, the site will list all social ventures (including NGOs, nonprofits, social enterprises, and initiatives) in a searchable list, while still offering its signature volunteer matching services.

Responsibilities:
· Formulate strategies and identify prospective customers according to the target market
· Solisitasi process and collection of funds
· Implement training and monitoring of financial activities depositors
· Fostering and maintaining good relationships with customers on the basis of mutual respect, especially a good and profitable customers

To develop, review and enhance:
· Credit Risk Policy (CRP)
· Guidelines to CRP (GCRP) in line with CAFIB, Basel II / IFSB requirements and BNM's Best Practice guidelines.
· To monitor and track compliance by business units and other relevant support departments to the bank's credit risk policies.

Requirements:
· S1 Accounting Programs
· Male Maximum age 27 years

[...]

REDmoney, a growing international financial media company is now expanding its global reach with its new office in Dubai. We are urgently seeking young and energetic candidates to work in its vibrant Sales Team to join our Dubai office.

Positions are available within the events, subscriptions and training (delegate sales) divisions.

• Monitor and report legal and compliance risks to senior management
• Identifies, manages and reviews all legal and compliance matters arising from or in connection with the business
• Coordinate relationships with regulators and act as first point of contact for regulators
Sharia Compliance:
• First contact person for Sharia Board in respect of legal and Islamic banking compliance issues
• Ensure compliance of processes and products with Sharia law; coordinate cooperation with the Sharia Board and Sharia related consultants

Role:

• Provide expert advice and support to Head, Islamic Banking in relation to Islamic Banking’s financial position and control.
• Ensure that the organisation delivers reasonable returns on shareholders’ capital.
• Understand the needs and functions of Islamic Banking SBUs/SFUs to develop an effective management information system to support the Bank’s goals.
• Oversee the SBU/SFU financial reporting needs and requirements and provide timely and accurate financial information to aid decision making.
• Ensure appropriate cascading of business targets to the SBU.
• Strategic planning and control to help achieve financial goals and targets of the SBU.

[...]

The Alliance for Luxembourg Islamic Finance (ALIF) will ensure Shari’ah-compliant custody and administration service at the time that total assets under management reach estimated $5.3 billion with growing number of Middle East investment funds. Luxembourg is fifth in the rating of Shari’ah-compliant funds worldwide. Already 41 egulated Shari’ah-compliant investment funds are based in Luxembourg. Four companies are uniting in order to establish a specialised platform that will service Shariah-compliant investment funds. These companies are Amanie Advisors, ADEPA Asset Management, Theisen Law, and KBL European Private Bankers. The joint venture will be known as Alliance for Luxembourg Islamic Finance (ALIF).

Qatar Islamic Bank is introducing specific sector-related packages which shall correspond to the different needs of SMEs. The first such packages focus on the key sectors of construction, trading and services. A new programme is being launched which shall providing special services to the country's small and medium sized enterprises. Exclusive financial benefits, guidance and advice will be offered. The programme is named Aamaly and will support SMEs which are recognized as one of the main contributors in innovation and job creation in the country.

Gatehouse Bank is making efforts to attract Oman's Sharia-compliant institutions to invest their funds in the UK and vice-versa. They are showing keen interest in establishing a business relationship with all Islamic banks. Gatehouse already have treasury services, capital market products like sukuk and real estate financing. There will be an official meeting between Gatehouse Bank's officials and such of Bank Nizwa and Bank Muscat. The goal of the meeting will be to explore cooperation possibilities and opportunities.

The euphoria of the Arab Spring has turned to disappointed expectations because building Arab democracies with open economies has proved to be much harder than expected. Countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are stuck in a situation of instability which hampers economic recovery. Meanwhile, lack of growth and jobs nurtures instability. If the vicious circle is not broken, it is highly probable that radical Islamists will become more active. Thus, modernity would be rejected and a relapse to the corrupt crony-state systems would threaten to become reality. That is why an altered mini-version of the Marshall Plan could play the role of the necessary bigger and more focused effort.

Sime Darby Bhd has been approved by the Securities Commission for its proposed US$1.5bil multi-currency sukuk issuance programme. The programme is seen as a significant landmark since it is first internationally rated multi-currency syariah-compliant sukuk programme by an Asian corporate. The ratings of Sime are A, A and A3 by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, Fitch Ratings Ltd and Moody's Investor Service, Inc.

According to a recent announcement, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has achieved a huge number of the Global Village visitors through its Financial Education Campaign. As the main sponsor of the campaign for the second year, ADIB supports the event as part of its strategy to help and promote initiatives launched by the government endorsing the UAE’s tourism and entertainment industries. Some of the exclusive services the bank offers at the venue are providing ATMs as well as setting up specially designed mobile branches. There, visitors have the opportunity to receive information about financial management and ADIB’s unique products and service.

According to latest standards and compliance news concerning corporate environmental and energy executives, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has been granted ANSI accreditation ahead of its inaugural meeting. An independent council of experts in standards development, securities law, environmental law, metrics and accounting will observe and supervise the development of industry-specific standards for relevant sustainability issues at the industry level. The standards are to measure and disclose environmental, social and governance performance.