IslamicFinance.de

It is expected that Malaysia will permit business trusts which will be listed on the local exchange. The purpose is to increase primary-market volume and attract domestic infrastructure companies in order to prevent them from being lured abroad. Berjaya Sports Toto has already made its plans directed abroad. It is about to raise an amount of nearly S$500m (US$401m) from the IPO in Singapore of Sports Toto Malaysia. The choice of destination of the issuer of the business trust has alerted local companies.

See more on: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=3...

The Tunis Financial Harbour (TFH) project by Gulf Finance House's (GFH) has received back-up from Tunisian Investment and International Co-operation Minister Riadh Bettaieb. The commitment is in the form of a high profile delegation from the Islamic investment bank GFH, including a meeting between acting chief executive Hisham Alrayes, TFH chief executive Lutfi Alzaar, and the minister. Minister Bettaieb assured that his government will do its best to support the project's development according to plan in co-operation with TFH. Mr Alrayes expressed his opinion, that the enefits to be expected from TFH are far beyond the ordinary for Tunisia as well as for GFH and their investors.

See more on: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=339234

Event marks opening of world’s first global Islamic asset manager

Riyadh, 8 October 2012: The Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Riyadh will be the site of the grand opening launch ceremonies for Safa Investment Services on 8 October 2012. The event will include presentations from leading specialists in Saudi banking and finance.

Safa Investment Services is the newest part of the growing financial market activities at The Investor for Securities (“The Investor”), a CMA-licensed investment company founded in 2007 in Riyadh. Over the last two years The Investor has become what is considered the most profitable investment company in Saudi Arabia, with now over $1 billion in total Assets Under Management (“AUM”).

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GFH Capital Limited plans to fully buy-out the futball club Leeds United. GFH Capital offers a 100 per cent cash purchase, which means there would be no debt for the club to be paid if the takeover succeeds. Negotiations are protracted as they are about to enter their fifth month but there is more than likely that the deal between GFH Capital and Leeds City Holdings Ltd will be made soon.

See more under: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-n...

Middle East Islamic financial institutions are seen to be more Syariah-compliant than Malaysia's. This is the result of a research on "Developing a Model for Harmonization of Syariah Rulings in Islamic Finance" conducted by Dr Amir Shaharuddin from Islamic Science University of Malaysia.

See more under: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=699667

The Islamic financial market has boomed over the last decade and is more than ever at the top of the agenda for sustainable growth and development. The world's most actively traded Islamic finance product is the Sukuk, which is becoming more and more accepted in non-Muslim countries.

See more under: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/391214/20121004/iqbal-sacranie-islamic...

Turkey's Islamic bond market continues to improve after government sold its first lira-denominated sukuk. Major domestic companies are now considering the issuance of their own corporate bonds. The government's sukuk has also lured Middle East investors aiming to diversify their portfolios which could drive the sales of Sukuk-compliant products on Turkish market.

See more under: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-03/sukuk-taking-flight-as-airli...

Two major Islamic banks, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank (FGB), have provide the market with two new deals this week. Both issues met with a high demand from investors and they also were supported in the secondary market. Considering the latest development of global economy, investors start viewing the GCC as a safe oasis for investments now more than ever. This can help to grow demand for Islamic bonds and secure lower yields.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/gulf-banks-idUSL6E8L2GCS20121004

As part of the preparation for issuance of a dollar-denominated sukuk, Qatar Internationa Islamic Bank (QIIB) has charged QNB Capital and two international banks to arrange investor meetings which will be held in the Middle East, Asia and Europe starting on October 10th. At the moment there are no informations about the size of the sukuk or other offer details.

See more under: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=535325...

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has drafted the Issuance of Sukuk Regulations which are now being published for public comment. The regulations focus on providing more comfort to the Sukuk investors and shall facilitate the issuance of Islamic bonds.

See more under: http://www.brecorder.com/money-a-banking/198/1244872/

HSBC decied to exit the get out of the Shariah-compliant business in the U.K., the UAE, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Singabpor and Mauritius due to high local competition and relatively small market size where there is not sufficient scale to be economic.

See also under: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-04/hsbc-ceases-selling-retail-shar...

Barwa Bank announced it has launched its first collective investment scheme 'The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund', which is managed by The First Investor, a subsidiary of the 100% Shariah compliant Barwa bank. The main objective of the fund will be to achieve long-term capital growth through investing in a broadly diversified portfolio of equities and equity-related securities listed on GCC markets.

See more under: http://www.international-adviser.com/news/middle-east/barwa-bank-launche...

Fitch Rating Agency warns about Sharia-complained banks as they do not complete with established conventional banks offering Islamic-compliant products. This is especially the case in Oman who's banking market hasn't been opened yet.

See more under: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/fina...

Qatari-based Barwa Bank considers an initial public offering on the Doha stock exchange. The IPO adviser is QInvest, a local investment bank controlled by Qatar Islamic Bank.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/us-idUSBRE8900A420121001

The Islamic capital market is prospering as the current growing expectations are rising. But in order to progress the industry, there must be strong governance, disclosure, proper due diligence, transparency, ethics, and corporate as well as social responsibility. It is also necessary to promote the syariah-based approach and increase international cooperation on syariah research and product development as well.

See more under: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/3/business/121171...

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is looking for new investments for farming projects in Kazakhstan through its $600 million agribusiness fund. Gulf countries offer capital but they do not have agricultural resources, while there are countries like Kazakhstan, which - on the contrary - have the resources but not the capital, said the chief executive of IDB. There are also opportunities in the sector of renewable energy, which is why IDB considers new investments into solar and wind projects that is not paid enough attention to.

See more under: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/15954/idb-launches-renewable-energ...

Bank of London and Middle East - BLME - is going to acquire a multi-let site property with six tentants for its Light Industrial Building Fund. This investment will bring the gross asset value of the fund over £20 million and an annualised yield of over eight per cent from the new acquisition which should help to achieve or even exceed target return of the fund, according to BLME Director Asset Management.

See more under: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/15967/blme-acquires-property-for-i...

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) which is the largest sharia-compliant lender in the country, is arranging an issue of a five-year benchmark-sized Islamic bond. The expecting value of the sukuk shall be at least $500 million.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/qatar-qib-sukuk-idUSL6E8L2BVU2...

Turkey announced it had raised its sovereign sukuk to 1.62 billion lira as response to a high demand for the two-year lease certificate that attracted an order book nearly five times the issue size of initial 1-5 billion lira.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/turkey-lira-sukuk-idUSL6E8L23A...