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Al Medina Financial and Korean Finance corporation are going to form a Sharia-compliant small and medium enterprise fund worth $50 million. The fund that should be operational in the first quater of next year will provide seed capital for SME companies in Oman, which use Korean technology.

The deadline for final takeover offer of Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) from Masraf Al Rayan has been prolonged to January 7. Islamic Bank of Britain that is owned by Qatar International Islamic Bank struggles to turn into profit since 2004. Management of the bank hopes that selling of the major stake to Masraf will help bank in renationalisation if its operations.

Islamic Banks expect rapid growth in 2013. According to a central bankier, Indonesian banks will register higher profits in upcoming year despite more stringent rules imposed by the Indonesian central bank. The total amount of Islamic assets including Islamic-compliant rural banks grew up by 37 percent comparing to last year, a deputy governor of Bank Indonesia said. He expects that the amount of Islamic assets will continue growing in the next year.

Building a Healthy & Sustainable Social Impact Bond (SIB) Market is the name of new report by Godeke Consulting that was supported by the Rockeffeller Foundation. The aim of the report is to explore the landscape of potential SIB investors in order to clarify the ways in which a sustainable market can be built up. Beside that, the report provides a look at social and environmental conditions and current economical issues.

UAE took steps to improve women's representation in organizations by setting up of quotas of women members in boards. Women will now have to prove by their professionalism that they deserve such "appreciation" against men colleagues.

The Principles for Responsible Investment shortly called PRI start to occupy the core of investment management. But there is still the quesation of acceptance among financial institutions. Are they able to appel to principles of responsible investing, while continuously attracting more conservative institutions? The following article gives you more information on the subject.

Standard Chartered (StanChart) extends its business activities in Oman by opening of its third branch in the country. According to officials, bankhouse considers establishing Islamic banking operations in the sultanate.

National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL) is going to launch a new Sharia-compliant Unit Trust called "NAMAL Sharia Fund". It will offer clients an opportunity to invest in a large diversified portfolio of Sharia-compliant equities listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Dar Al Sharia Legal and Financial Consultancy LLC (DAS) will assist the fund with consulting services.

The first superannuation fund that follows Islamic principles has been recently launched in Australia. The issuer of the fund (called "Personal Choice") is the wealth management company Crescent Wealth in cooperation with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professional's.

Dubai's ruler Shaikh Al Maktoum decided to finance small and medium enterprises by a new SME Fund. Fund will offer financiall help to around 100 national entrepreneurial projects every year and thus support expecially young citizens in order to grow up a new generation of entrepreneurs to help UAE economy to thrive.

BankDhofar plans to launch 'Maisarah' Islamic banking services, according to the study that was carried out to ensure clients best in class Islamic banking experience. Maisarah Islamic banking services are subject to the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) approval.

FWU AG Group had recently issued a US$55,000,000 Sukuk which is the first ever Sukukissuance made by a German financial services company. It is also the first Sukuk used for intellectual property rights under an Ijara structure. FWU is primarily offering Takaful solutions in both Europe and the Middle East. The issuance represents its first entry to the market for purely Islamic finance.

Dana Gas will pay $70 million in cash to bondholders and offers aditionally 8% coupon on remaining debt in order to buy time to restructure its sukuk. The company is facing difficult times as it missed a bond redemption on its sukuk that has matured on October 31. In order to fix this problem, Dana has made an agreement with adhoc committee of creditors, and thus earned time to restructure its finances.

The Jordanian government announced its intention to establish regional center for Islamic finance. By now, the total amount of Islamic assets in the country reaches 5% of total banking assets. Islamic banks of Jordan perform considerably better than traditional banks as they offer various unique services and products.

Lebanese banks anticipate the Syrian market to grow once the political stability will be reached. By now, there are seven Lebanesse banks that are operating in Syria.

Saudi Arabia-based Saviola Group is about to launch a new Sukuk program, according to a filing on the Saudi exchange from December 15. The Sukuk will be issued in a series of tranches and its value will not exceed the Company's paid-up capital.

The deadline for discussions about the takeover of the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) by Masraf, the biggest Qatari bank, had been extended to January 7. IBB which is majority-owned by Qatar International Islamic Bank is trying to invigorate its business after the profit downturn in 2011 when it reported a loss of 8.9 million pounds. According to a separate statement released last week, IBB registered a 63% growth in home financing and a 43% up in long-term savings deposits in the first nine months of 2012. Management of the bank will continue focusing on secured financing and increasing of the loyalty of young savers.

The Central Bank has postponed the implementation of three most important reforms regarding the security of chip and pin debit cards. According to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Emirates NBD, the emirate's banks are not yet ready to implement the new security standards to protect clients against card fraud.

One of the leading foreign banks in Malaysia is looking for talented individuals to take on newly-created roles within its Islamic Finance division; Head of Islamic Finance and Islamic Client Coverage professionals.
For the Head position - your key purpose in this new role will be to develop the Bank’s Islamic Finance business. The Bank is also looking for experienced Islamic corporate bankers to undertake origination and client coverage functions of the unit.

Islamic Bank of Britain plc (IBB) registered an increase of 63% in home financing and a 43% up in long-term savings deposits for this year's first three quarters. The launch and development of new savings products have played the main role for the development of the growth and demand. Examples are the IBB Home Purchase Plan and Buy to Let Purchase Plans which were strongly supported by effective sales and marketing strategies.