IslamicFinance.de

The ratings of IBANK are a reflection of Fitch's view that support from the Thai government is very probable. The main reasons for that are the country's high effective ownership of 93.7% and close control, the bank's legal status as a specialised financial institution (SFI), strong linkages between the bank and the state, and historical financial support from the government. Also, the bank's role in terms of public policy is not to underestimate. The bank's rating is lower than the one of the other three Fitch-rated SFIs since its direct government ownership is lower and the government commitment for support stated in its establishment act is less explicit.

Read more on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/idUSWLA491720121018

In the search for ways to deal with rising operational costs, Malaysia's Islamic banks are ready for consolidation. While in the past Islamic banks would rather not merge mainly because of resistance from powerful shareholders, now the development of megabanks would enable the issuance ground-breaking products just as conventional banks. This is made possible thanks to the rapid growth of Islamic finance - 23.7% of Malaysia's total banking assets belongs to the Islamic financial sector.

Read more on: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/519665

Just as HSBC Holdings announced it would shrink its Islamic banking operations in a number of countries, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi made plans to increase the contribution of its Shariah-compliant operations three times over the next eight years. Thus, it becomes clear that HSBC's move is nothing but a sign of its own priorities. While it is set to continue its operations mainly in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia with a limited presence in Indonesia, local banks have the opportunity to step in for it.

Read more on: http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/business/211368-gulf-islamic-banks-ready-to...

Property giant Limitless has made a deal to to restructure $1.2bn (Dh4.4bn) of Shari’ah compliant debt with its lenders. The syndicate was established in 2008 and was originally due in 2010. Because of the restructuring, the company's ownership will be transferred to the government of Dubai. Limitless has set to repay all its creditors by 2016.

Read more on: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

The latest takeover bid for the Birmingham based Islamic Bank of Britain by its majority shareholder, Qatar International Islamic Bank, has not had any success. QIIB's scheme was recently voted down at a shareholder meeting. Meanwhile, Marsaf Al Rayan has become a potential bidder for IBB. The ofer by QIIB from September 6 was worth £35.5 million.

Read more on: http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-ne...

Turkish Airlines discusses the possibility of issuing a sukuk aiming to provide financial means for the purchase of aircraft, necessary because of the company's expansion. So far, they are examining markets in order to make a decision. For the purpose considered multibillion will be needed. Last year sovereign issuance drove the sukuk market last year to a height US$85bn more than the year before, which constitutes a growth of over 90%.

Read more on: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/turkish-airlines-considering-multibillion...

Medgulf Allianz Takaful a cheque and several gifts to the children of Alia School for Early Intervention. The initiative is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. More than 100 students with special needs are given education at the school. The donation comes from an internal sales campaign during Ramadan.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/medgulf-allianz-takaful-donates-alia-school-315607

A further Sharia-compliant product for corporate customers was recently launched by Barclays bank. It is called La Riba Asset Finance and serves customers to buy assets locally as well as internationally. The product is meant for Muslim clients.

Read more on: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-91394/bank-unveils-sharia-product

Due to relative stability in a volatile region, Dubai has quickly become role model for its neighbour countries. Appealing opportunities for foreign companies as well as for individual investors are offered. The next step for Dubai's development is Corporate Social Responsibility (“CRS”). Nonetheless, the implementation of CRS activities has stumbled upon several obstacles including cultural, religious and reactionary to global forces.

According to an announcement by Samy Khallaf, the Ministry of Finance’s head of the Public Debt Unit, a preliminary agreement on the issuance of Egypt's first sukuk in Islamic markets was made. Ten international investment banks will be involved in the issuing procedures. The sukuk project will be worth between $750 million and $1 billion. The move is dependent on IMF approval of the $4.8 billion loan requested by the Egyptian government.

Read more on: http://dailynewsegypt.com/2012/10/17/news-of-sukuk-issuance-agreement-cr...

In Lahore, a seminar for the worldwide poverty day is organised. Global topics around the issue of poverty and its solution possibilities were discussed. Experts from microfinance, Islamic microfinance and the banking sector took part.

Read more on: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/bu...

During the first eight months of this year, total sukuk issuance in Malaysia reached RM219.4bil compared with RM120.7bil during the same period in 2011. In 2012, the Islamic capital market showed encouraging performance. Moreover, the sukuk area was able to register a record in total issuance value. The Islamic equity segment was bolstered thanks to Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd. The growth tendency of the Islamic capital market is true not only for Malaysia but worldwide as well.

Read more on: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/18/business/12187...

Notable growth in the takaful industry from Islamic countries in North Africa is expected due to the changes in the political environment there. Islamic governments in countries like Libya, Tunisia and Egypt will most probably make a huge contribution to the global takaful market. Needless to say, conventional insurance will be overruled. With $11.8 million, the African takaful industry already ranks third worldwide.

New client escaping from the debt crisis in Spain and the crisis in the Middle East turn to assets under the management of banks in Geneva. The outlook of difficulty for Swiss banks does not scare them. Thus, the amount of funds under management has grown due to inflow of foreign money, in particular from Spain and the Middle East. Geneva's banks are seen as shelter.

Read more on: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/geneva-banks-idUKL5E8LHGCI20121017

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) shows high performance with a net profit of QR1.13bn in the first nine months of 2012. This is an increase of 2% compared to the same period last year. In September this year, QIB's total assets were at QR66.8bn - an increase of 26.7% since last year. The reason for the continuous asset growth are the financing activities, which have risen 42% from QR11.3bn in the first nine months of 2011 to QR38.1bn this year.

Read more on: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=538014...

Without causing much noise, liquidity-rich Arab banks have been taking part in commodity trade finance - an area which, until recently, was dominated by a small number of French banks. While the market share of eurozone banks has decreased from 80% two years ago to 50% today, banks from the Gulf region become more and more present. The lending limitations of the eurozone banks is caused by constrained US dollar liquidity.

Read more on: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d775f476-144a-11e2-8cf2-00144feabdc0.html...

It is expected that Islamic finance will thrive at a faster rate in emerging economies. The main reasons therefore, pointed out by KFH Research Ltd., are their resilient economic dynamics and potential, and their awareness of the industry. The liquidity in the emerging markets for Islamic finance is growing continuously and fast. This results in an increase in the demand for Islamic finance products. The outlook for the industry is growth as high as 20% a year.

Turkish Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank has signed an Islamic finance deal of $450 million. Several major international banks took part in the deal. The facility includes 32 banks from 16 countries around the world, among which Standard Chartered Bank, Noor Islamic Bank, ABC Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD. The mandated lead arrangers were Bank Islam Brunei Berhad Darussalam and Al Hilal Bank.

KPMG organised a seminar on Islamic Finance-Lessons Learnt from abroad & Challenges faced in Oman. The seminar was the latest in a series of Breakfast Seminars held by KPMG. At the seminar, a comparative analysis of Islamic Finance models which are implemented in different countries was made and pros and cons of the different approaches were discussed at length. A methodical approach for the development of Islamic Finance industry infrastructure was pointed out to be an optimal approach for best results in Oman.

Until recently, sharia-compliant deals in Azerbaijan had to be conducted secretly, hidden under the appearance of conventional banking. Now, on the other hand, there are a couple of banks which openly offer a limited range of services compliant with Islamic principles. These include bans on interest and pure monetary speculation. However, the government still has not created a law in order to regulate the Islamic financial industry in the country. Such a law would enable expansion of operations of commercial banks and allow sukuk issuance.