IslamicFinance.de

Al Meezan Investments CEO Mohammad Shoaib announced the launch of the Meezan Asset Allocation Fund (MAAF), an open-end Shariah compliant asset allocation scheme. MAAF has an initial offering from April 18- 20, 2016 with no load and would be open for subscripion subsequently. MAAF aims to earn a potentially high return through asset allocation between Shariah compliant equity, fixed income and money market instruments. MAAF has an initial offering from April 18- 20, 2016 with no load and would be open for subscripion subsequently.

Islamic banking is growing fast in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, thanks to the growing popularity of its Sharia compliant structure and a helping hand from the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. According to the State Bank of Pakistan most of Pakistan's conventional banks have now opened Sharia-compliant branches and many are working on full conversion to Islamic banking, which is growing at an annual rate double that of the country's Western-style banking sector. Pakistan's 250 million people are served by 22 local and foreign banks, five of which are Islamic. With a few exceptions almost all local and foreign conventional banks also offer Islamic financing services.

Iran’s central bank governor Valiollah Seif demanded the Obama administration take more steps to facilitate his country’s banking transactions world-wide and warned the landmark nuclear agreement reached last year could be at risk if the U.S. doesn’t act. The White House in response to Seif’s comments replied that the U.S. is abiding by the nuclear agreement. Iranian banks have been unable to process international money transfers and finance trade freely in the months since the deal went into effect in January. Iran also has faced obstacles in repatriating tens of billions of dollars of its oil revenues.

Islamic financial institutions in Oman are expected to achieve a healthy growth in the banking sector in the near future, said Dr Jamil El Jaroudi, chief executive officer of Bank Nizwa. He also said that Bank Nizwa will open new branches in the Sultanate by the end of the year. The bank was able to reach breakeven in December after three years of operations. In order to reach more potential clients, a mobile branch will travel all-around the Sultanate offering a host of products, services and also make the people aware on the benefits of Islamic banking. The truck’s journey will start from the governorate of Muscat, moving on to Dakhiliyah, Al Sharqiya, Dhofar, Al Batinah and Al Buraimi.

L'agence 570 easi, pionnière en finance islamique en France vient de proposer une nouvelle offre de crédit halal permettant au client d’effectuer un achat immobilier sans avoir à contracter un emprunt portant un intérêt, selon le principe murabaha. L'offre actuelle est désormais disponible sur 20 ans, un crédit inédit en France. Le Conseil de la fatwa de l’Union des Organisation Islamique de France (UOIF) avait émis un avis juridique dans lequel il exemptait sous conditions, au nom du concept de nécessité, l’emprunteur musulman de l’interdiction de recourir au prêt bancaire à intérêt lorsque l’investissement vise l’achat d’une résidence principale.

1MDB issued a statement Monday saying Abu Dhabi state-run fund International Petroleum Investment Corp. has failed to pay interest on $1.7 billion on the Malaysian fund's 2022 bonds. The Malaysian government was cautioned about risks associated with the debt-ridden fund in 2014. The state investment fund set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been burdened with debt of over $12 million over the years and has been accused of mismanagement while facing corruption allegations. Apart from Malaysia, the 1MDB investigation is also underway in the United States, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi.

Dubai has the resources to become the capital of the world’s Islamic economy following an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, according to Mohammed Al Gergawi, chairman of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC). Gergawi added that Islamic economy is expected to have a potential value of nearly seven trillion (Dh25 trillion) in 2020. In his opinion Dubai possesses the resources that make it the capital of the world’s Islamic economy, such as experience, the strategic location and the necessary infrastructure.

The Sharia-compliant banking industry is in dire need for highly skilled and talented human capital because the sector is growing faster than educational institutes can provide professionals. Experts say emerging markets would require at least 50,000 Islamic finance professionals in the next few years to keep the sector moving. Producing Islamic finance specialists presents challenges, though. Islamic banking, in principle, is of higher complexity than its conventional counterpart, and the expertise where Islamic finance talent is needed includes Sharia-compliant financial engineers and product developers who structure innovative financial solutions tailored for both Muslim and non-Muslim markets.

The Daaboul Industrial Group (DIG) was established in Syria by Mohammed Daaboul in 1976. After almost 40 years the family patriarch is still the acting chairman of the family-owned group and is considered as one of Syria's living legends. By increasing the revenues with consistent growth rates of 20%-25% per annum until 2013, Mohammed created one of the largest aluminum producers in the Middle East. The constant growth was not sustainable without someone clearly defining actual roles and responsibilities and creating a rigid reporting culture within the family. A future goal for DIG is to add senior professionals in key positions to the group.

Iran’s government plans to shift part of its borrowing from local corporate investors to the capital markets, a move that could stimulate trading in debt securities and help the economy recover from years of economic sanctions. The government is laying plans to offer a range of debt instruments in the markets, where they could be bought by institutional and individual investors, rather than placing debt directly with banks and Corps.
At present, Iran’s banking sector provides around 95% of all financing, with only a tiny portion sourced from the debt capital markets. Several efforts are under way, like the approval to use ijara sukuk..

Aimed at raising awareness of and promoting Islamic finance in the country, Bank Alfalah has organised the launch of a book titled ‘Shariah Minds in Islamic Finance’ by the scholar Dr Mohammadd Daud Bakar. The book presents insights into the life of an international scholar, discusses stakeholders’ expectations and defines the ultimate role scholars should play in shaping the industry’s future. Dr Bakar currently serves as Chairman of the Shariah Advisory Council at the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Securities Commission of Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority and the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). He is also a Shariah board member of various financial institutions.

Western media should apologise for misleading the Malaysian public after a US$681 million deposit was found to be a “genuine donation”, Mr Najib’s press secretary said on Friday, April 15. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubier had earlier confirmed that the millions found in PM Najib’s bank account was a donation originating from Saudi Arabia. In a statement, Tengku Sariffuddin accused former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of carrying out a smear campaign against Mr Najib which is being motivated by "personal interest". Najib has been facing allegations of graft after reports claimed that the funds found in his personal bank account originated from troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Turkey's cabinet has approved Murat Cetinkaya as the next central bank head, giving some initial relief to investors who had feared a battle between Erdogan, who equates high interest rates with treason, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's more orthodox economic team. Despite the initial relief in markets, the 40-year-old Cetinkaya remains something of an unknown quantity, lacking the experience of his predecessor, Erdem Basci, an engineer turned economics Ph.D. whose term as governor expires next week. The new Central bank governor must now convince investors that he can tame inflation while resisting political pressure to cut rates.

Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, PhD, PJN is an authority in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI) both at the professional and academic levels. He has played a pioneering role in the development of Islamic finance, while his leadership in setting accounting, auditing, governance, Shariíah and regulatory standards has been instrumental in establishing the position of the IFSI in the mainstream of global financial services. He believes that some of the major internal barriers have emanated from a lack of a proper understanding of the specificities of Islamic finance. Many tend to interpret Islamic finance transactions either from their conventional knowledge or their perspective of understanding Islamic Fiqh.

Gold products used in Islamic finance would need to be physically-backed and allocated to the underlying asset, according to a draft of a standard for Shariah gold being developed. Mohd Daud Bakar, a Shariah scholar who is writing the draft for the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, said the document is almost finished. The committee formed to develop the gold standard will meet once more next Sunday and then submit the proposal to AAOIFI's Shariah Board, he said. The gold standard is expected to be completed later this year, and public hearings could be held in Morocco and Dubai and possibly Indonesia or Malaysia, Bakar said.

While 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is seeing a positive balance sheet with total assets exceeding total debts by RM3 billion, it cannot be denied that revaluation of its land assets, which were acquired relatively cheaply, is what saved it from slipping into a deficit. As at last January, 1MDB had RM53 billion in assets compared with RM50 billion in debts. While details of 1MDB's latest assets and debts are not available, past records do show that its cheap buys in the land division with the federal government especially have worked to help bolster its balance sheet by at least RM6.36 billion.

As the 13th OIC (57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation) Heads of State Summit gets under way in Istanbul this week, it is important to remember that whilst many Muslim countries are known for oil and gas, this is not, however, their most valuable resource, and it is not the only sector that needs to be invested in. Our youth will last longer than our oil reserves, and their worth is impervious to price fluctuations and market forces. Investment in youth is now a top priority for Muslim countries, because if we do not invest in our young people, someone else will – this is a free market. This is why the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (an OIC affiliated international institution headquartered in Istanbul) have convened a youth summit.

Investcorp organised its annual Investcorp Leadership Program at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. The four-day program, held between 29 March and one April 2016, was attended by 41 aspiring young business leaders from the GCC. The program officially began with a keynote address by Mohammed Al Ardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp, who spoke about the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship. Faculty from Oxford Saïd delivered a series of interactive sessions on shaping the markets in which companies operate, embedding entrepreneurship in organizations and scaling family businesses. Demonstrations of the latest research in bioresearch and microscopy were also organised at the University’s Advanced Bioimaging Unit.

A niche area only a few years ago, new ethically focused products and funds are popping into existence at a rapid rate, while mainstream funds are increasingly trying to keep up by integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards into their investment decision-making. Trustworthy corporate brands take a long time to build based on years of good governance, treating customers fairly and contributing positively to society, but it takes seconds for that brand and consumer trust to be destroyed. Consumers, governments and non-governmental bodies are increasingly targeting companies that have demonstrated poor governance, show scant regard for environmental standards or have records of poor labour relations.

Sofyan Djalil, Minister of National Development Planning, said that the National Sharia Finance Committee (KNKS) is tasked with building the industry by implementing the Master Plan for Indonesian Islamic Financial Architecture. The plan will include the formation of sharia investment banks owned by the government and privates, as well as the formation of takaful and retakaful firms owned by the state. It will also include the formation of the Islamic Financial System Safety Net. The KNKS, Sofyan said, will be led by President Joko Widodo. The government will work together with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in preparing regulations that can accommodate the industry.