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#Malaysia’s #takaful industry is set to double its growth rate this year as companies focus on selling cheaper policies in rural areas. Malaysian Takaful Association's chairman Ahmad Rizlan Azman said the number of policies would rise 10% to 5.05 million in 2016, compared with 4.3% growth in 2015. Insurers entering the micro-takaful market and the liberalisation of commission structures are the biggest drivers.

Qatar National Bank has admitted that its systems were hacked but said the incident will not have a financial impact on the bank’s customers. Security researcher Omar Benbouazza said a Turkish far-right group called Bozkurtlar for Grey Wolves has claimed responsibility for the bank breach. He stated that the attackers used an SQL injection tool and the bank made a big mistake using known vulnerable software in the targeted host.

In Bangladesh Abdus Samad has been elected as the chairman and Mohammed Abdus Salam as the vice chairman of Al-Arafah Islami Bank. Samad is one of the founder directors of the bank, and vice chairman of S Alam Group. Salam is a sponsor shareholder and ex-chairman of Al-Arafah Islami Bank, and the current managing director of Mir Group.

Bank Muamalat CEO Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid and MACC deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali signed the Corporate Integrity Pledge of Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The signing ceremony was also witnessed by Bank Muamalat chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Munir Abd Majid. The signing of the pledge signifies Bank Muamalat's declaration against corrupt practices and its resolve to work towards a highly principled business environment.

Summit Bank has received approval from Pakistan's central bank to conduct due diligence on Burj Bank. Burj Bank held 4.4 billion rupees ($42 mn) in paid up capital as of December, compared with the regulatory minimum of 10 billion rupees. Burj Bank said it had shortlisted three financial institutions to conduct due diligence on a non-exclusive basis. It also received an extension from the central bank to meet the mimimum capital requirement until June 30.

Abu Dhabi-listed Sharjah Islamic Bank said on Monday it had obtained a three-year, $265 million syndicated murabaha financing facility from a group of banks.
ABC Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital and Noor Bank were lead arrangers and bookrunners, Sharjah Islamic said without giving pricing details.

Dubai Islamic Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, announced today that it had launched the first UAE Sharia Departments Forum 2016.The event was organized by the Bank, as Founder & Sponsor with the valued participation of other local Islamic banks, to create a platform where the Sharia departments of financial institutions across the country can meet to exchange experiences and share solutions to the challenges they face, with the strategic objective of developing the Islamic financial services sector in the UAE. The opening event took place on April 30, 2016, at The Palace Hotel in Dubai.
As the first event of its kind in the country, the Forum was led by Sharia department at DIB and featured the Sharia departments of other local Islamic banks including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ,Emirates Islamic and Al Hilal Bank . 'Sharia Audit' was chosen as the theme of the event this year with a very comprehensive series of panels, each of which was led by one of the participants, discussing a different element of the topic.

Usman Siddiqui, the Managing Director of Equitable Financial Solutions (EFSOL), a Australian Islamic finance company announced the establishment of the company’s office in Singapore. The Singapore branch, which is registered as EFSOL Asset Management, will play a key role in the company’s regional strategy. EFSOL also announced the offering of its investment scheme, the EFSOL Income Fund, registered under the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a restricted Collective Investment Scheme.

Abu Dhabi’s new financial centre has been running for six months but the corridors still feel quiet. Almost 200 people have been hired to work for Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) since its inception in 2013 but they are nowhere to be seen. Commentators have warned that ADGM’s established neighbour the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) could prevent it from flourishing, and argued it is unwise to locate two financial centres in such close proximity.

Dr Ishrat Hussain, Chairman Center of Excellence for Islamic Finance emphasized that Islamic Finance should not be restricted to a faith based segment and the banking sector has to increase investment in agriculture, SME and Islamic Microfinance. He stated that the share of Islamic Banks is 13pc growing at the rate of 28%, however, there are still regulatory and legal challenges which need to be addressed to make a real shift in lending profiles.

Dubai Islamic Bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. Adnan Chilwan, on his first visit to Pakistan, outlined the detailed growth strategy for the franchise in the country. This newly defined strategy repositions the Bank’s medium term plans alongside the transformational growth the Group has achieved as part of their 2014-2016 strategic agenda. The event also marked and celebrated the successful 10 years of the Bank’s operations in the country.

Backed by sovereign funds Iqbal Khan and his private equity firm Fajr Capital invests for financial and social returns ins Muslim countries. Fajr is a union of institutions that have high credibility and share the same values. CEO Iqbal Khan sees it as his mission to broaden the educated Muslim middle class.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is inviting its shareholders to subscribe for new shares, by way of a 1-for-4 rights issue. The Board of Directors resolved on 27 April to increase the issued capital of the Bank by AED 988,437,777 raising the capital of the bank to AED 4,942,188,884. The New Shares will be issued at a price of AED 3.20 per New Share, reflecting the nominal value of AED 1.00 per New Share and a share premium of AED 2.20. The ownership limitation on DIB’s shares remains in place: 51 per cent of the issued share capital of the bank must be owned by nationals of the United Arab Emirates.

Janet Ecker, president and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance said Canada’s stable financial market and risk management expertise, coupled with a large and growing Muslim population and an openness to the world, enables Canada to become the North American hub for Islamic finance. Just over one million people identified as Muslim on the most recent household survey in 2011, and that number is expected to grow to around three million by 2030. Muslims represented 3.2 percent of the Canadian population in 2011, up from 2 percent a decade earlier.

Capital Intelligence Ratings announced that it has downgraded the ratings of Tadhamon International Islamic Bank (TIIB), based in Yemen. TIIB’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) was downgraded to 'B-' from 'B' due to the extremely challenging local operating environment and the attendant risk to the Bank’s financials, and continued pressure on earnings and associated volatility. The Bank’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (FCR) is downgraded to 'C' (from 'C+') due to sovereign risk factors and the operating environment. The Short-Term FCR is maintained at 'C'. All ratings remain on a 'Negative' Outlook.

Shariah-compliant financing is emerging as a viable alternative to conventional banking in order to fund infrastructure deals, which could help promote use of longer-term transactions in Islamic finance. This month Pakistani banks arranged Rs100 billion ($955 million) worth of 10-year Islamic bonds (sukuk) for a hydropower plant, the largest infrastructure deal to use Islamic financing in the country. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan wanted to make Shariah-compliant financing its first choice for infrastructure and long-term financing needs.

While the use of risk-sharing instruments for the funding of revenue-generating infrastructure projects is easy to understand, such instruments can also be used for the funding of non-revenue generating infrastructure. The principle of risk-sharing would require that the government's repayment of the obligation created be linked to some proxy or indicator of government revenue. Given today's conundrum with debt and the need to deleverage, GDP-linked securities are being revisited. Replacing the benchmark to LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) with a benchmark to nominal GDP makes eminent sense, especially from a Shariah viewpoint.

The lifting of sanctions has not only enhanced Iran's economy but has also provided an opportunity for Shari'ah-compliant investment with diversification opportunities. Iran's Islamic banking assets are $482 billion, according to Dubai Government data from 2014. Islamic finance in Iran can benefit from the sheer volume of the post-sanction investments and such projects are reportedly high. This will in turn support the market growth and create growth opportunities for the banking system in Iran.

Fitch Ratings expects Turkish banks to have continued resilience to economic shocks as they still retain reasonable capitalization and liquidity. According to Fitch Financial Institutions Director Lindsey Liddell the agency expects their performance to remain reasonable, however the banks will face some challenges given the slower growth environment and margin pressure from competition. There will be further asset quality pressures, particularly considering the sector's high level of foreign currency lending and the sharp devaluation of the local currency in 2015.

Malaysian government investment fund 1Malaysia Development defaulted on a series of bonds on Tuesday, weighing on the country’s stock and currency markets and raising concerns that the government may eventually have to spend billions to bail out the fund. The cross default triggered by non-payment, the continuing stand-off with IPIC and a widening investigation across at least six countries into possible corruption and money-laundering connected to the fund are starting to affect the markets.