IslamicFinance.de

After legal proceedings were lobbed at Dubai Group over its US$10bil debt, the question arose what can be expected regarding the 30.5% interest it held in Bank Islam, where 51% of it belongs to BIMB. It is suggested that BIMB may acquire the stake from the Dubai state investment vehicle. In this way it will gain practically full control of Bank Islam. A notable fact is that BIMB as well as Bank Islam share a common shareholder pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji, which owns 51.76% of the former and 18.5% of the latter.

More on: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/17/business/120386...

After Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved of the prospectus for Alizz islamic bank's shares offering, the bank has set the launch date of its initial public offering (IPO) on September 22. The IPO consists of 400mn shares. Expextations are that the bank will draw unbanked sections of the population into the market and that by 2015 Islamic banking assets in the country will exceed RO2bn.

The Viability Rating of Kuwait Finance House has been downgraded to 'bb' by Fitch Ratings. The bank's Long-term Issuer Default Rating, however, remains at 'A+'. According to Fitch Ratings, the decrease in the VR is caused by he high concentrations in KFH's financing portfolio as well as asset quality indicators which continuously become worse. In addition, the bank reported slightly weaker regulatory Tier 1 and Fitch Core Capital ratios in H112. A positive move on KFH's side is expected: they plan to bolster their capital in the months to follow.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) proposed an equity investment in Gulf African Bank (GAB) worth $5 million. The investment is expected to improve the bank's strength and provide additional capacity for growth. under IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), an additional $3 million trade line will be made available by IFC to the bank.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has put an ent to talks about the potential sale of its stake in Al Salam (International) Hospital. As the largest investor in the hospital, KFH contributes to the stability, integrity and strength of the latter. Thus, Al Salam contrasts with other competitive hospitals which are of individual ownership. The end of discussions on KFS's side will not affect the bank's financial position.

Bank of Khyber (BoK), the new Raast Islamic Banking Branch at Mingora was formally inaugurated by Engr Humayun Khan on Friday. At the ceremony, Engr Humayun Khan expressed his appreciation of the vital role of BoK in province's socio-economic uplifts activities. Furthermore, he said that the government extended its full support to BoK. He also pointed out the bank's importance for the implementation of the self-employments schemes of the provincial government in order to reduce the unemployment among youths.

Islamic International Rating Agency has assigned a national scale long-term rating of A+ to ABC Islamic Bank (E.C). The short-term rating is A-1 and the international ratings - A-/A-2. There is a "Stable" outlook on the ratings. The fiduciary score has been assessed to be in the range of (75-80), and points to strong fiduciary capacity and a well developed governance structure, in which the rights of the stakeholders are well defined and protected.

The net profit of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) for the first half of the year have been announced. They are as high as Dhs555m, which result is a demonstration of a continuous growth. Compared with it, the same period of 2011 brought a profit of Dhs552m. A 27% increase from the first quarter of 2012 to the second has been registered.

A group from Aabar Investments plans to set up the first Islamic bank in Oman - Al Izz Islamic Bank. The promotion of the bank is conducted under the supervision of Abu Dhabi's Aabar , Oman's Huriah Company and Dubai-based Tasameem Real Estate Company. The bank's role will be to provide comprehensive business and retail Islamic banking solutions in accordance with Omani law.

Murabaha Financing Facility (the "Facility") was launched into general syndication inviting numerous banks world-wide to participate. Among them are ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Al Hilal Bank PJSC, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad, Emirates NBD Capital Limited ,, Noor Islamic Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank (together the "Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers" and the "Bookrunners"). Together with Albaraka Türk Kat?l?m Bankas? A.?. ("Albaraka Türk"), a US$ 250 Million equivalent Dual-Currency was arranged. Albaraka Türk will use financing under the facility in order to expand its financing activities in Turkey.

The Finance Ministry is planning to establish a special-purpose Buddhist bank which wil be similar to the Islamic Bank of Thailand. The decision is based on an estimated savings amount of temples accross the country in weight of over 200 billion baht. In the first step, a particular outlet of the Government Savings Bank will be used as an alternative for temples to make deposits. The management of the deposits will be in accordance with the rules of Buddhism.

Malaysian Bank Muamalat announced the launch of the first Islamic bank in China. The project is planned to be realized in a two-years' time in team with Bank of Shi Zui Shan of China. The new bank will be situated in the autonomous region of Ningxia Hui. Its role will be to contribute to the development and promotion of Islamic banking in the region.

Capital Intelligence (CI), the international credit rating agency, announced that it has affirmed the ratings of Bank AlJazira (BAJ), based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Bank's successful development of itsnew markets in terms of loans and deposits, its continually improving asset quality and its improved capital profile supports the Financial Strength Rating of 'BBB'. Moreover, the factors mentioned above affirm the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating at 'BBB+' and the Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating at 'A2'.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) are pleased to announce the launch of the ISDA/IIFM Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) product standard to be used for Islamic hedging purposes.

The Mubadalatul Arbaah (MA) standard follows on from the “ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut (Hedging) Master Agreement” and provides the industry with a framework for Islamic risk mitigation. The launch of the Tahawwut Master Agreement as the template for Shari’ah-compliant risk management was officially announced at a press conference hosted by Central Bank of Bahrain in March 2010.

Dear Readers,

aside from Islamic banks there is another model in practice for more than 20 years avoiding the topic of interest. I usually cite it in my seminars to show that even interest free loans can exist along a banking model. Years ago, an in depht analysis was published online:

http://anielski.com/wp-content/documents/The%20JAK%20Bank%20Report.pdf

In the meantime interested groups can seek assistance to set it up by:

http://www.cajasweden.se/downloads/caja_folder_e-version.pdf

And also JAK offers courses and backgrounds for international interested groups from abroad in their first newsletter:

http://jak.aventus.nu/download/JAK_Int/JAK_International_Newsletter_1.pdf

Addendum: A master thesis about JAK Medlemsbank can be downloaded here:

http://www.jak.se/sites/default/files/folkbildning/dokument/MARK_BURTON_...

Enjoy reading and take it as a source of inspiration!

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

Dear Reader,

IslamicFinance.de is privately funded for many years. Now, for the first time, you have the possibility to make a contribution, from one Dollar upwards!

The technical details, and the money transfer via paypal is organised by Kapipal a new online fundraising tool:

http://www.kapipal.com/islamicfinance

On the blog I gave some more thoughts about Islamic finance media for those interested: http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3454

Please also note: The fundraising action has a deadline, so act today, not tomorrow and tell your friends about it!

All donors who will leave a message will be listed in the article, which follows after closure of the fundraising period.

I am happy to meet you in person either on 19th March in Milano (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3396) or on 10th May in Frankfurt (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=BAFINII) at the respective Islamic finance conference.

Wa at Taufiq min Allah, all the best,

Michael Saleh Gassner

Dear Readers,

Islamic finance media are a tricky service. This is true for various reasons: The Internet eats up the revenues, because everything ought to be free. Islamic banks are still a niche phenomena, and international banks like UBS or Deutsche are almost as large as the entire global Islamic finance industry. Consequently the marketing budgets are much lower, too.

Last not least, who should advertise? The banks among themselves or to the clients? Advertising from bank to bank, does usually not make much sense, but real client oriented formats are hard to find, too. May be this is a niche. Others, who could finance Islamic finance media are basically the service providers to the banks, but due to the limited number of Islamic financial insitutions, direct marketing, e.g. face to face meetings will be preferred.

This in short is the background why Islamic finance media are not so well established in terms of journalism and research, but mostly reflecting the press release as criticised by the makers of the Islamic Globe. See: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

Norton Rose Seminar Documentation

Making Their Mark: Women Working in the Middle Eastern Financial
Industry

OECD: Women’s Access to Finance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

Women’s Empowerment through Islamic Microfinance in Egypt

IDB Prize for Women’s Contribution to Development: PROMOTING WOMEN’S ROLE IN FINANCE AND ECONOMY

By organizing a one-day conference on Islamic finance and bringing together some of the
major players in the field of islamic and ethical finance , Islamic Relief-Italy, in collaboration
with ASSAIF, intends to share some reflections, case studies and initiatives in order
to contribute to solve the actual financial crisis. Thanks to a significant experience in
implementing development projects that are shari’a compliant , Islamic Relief represents
an interesting and successful example of Islamic finance initiatives that are born and
developed in Europe.The financial crisis which is nowadays afflicting most of the European countries has had

The financial crisis which is nowadays afflicting most of the European countries has had a significant impact on the real economy and on the society itself. Particularly, a growing
number of people are marginalized within the Italian society (not only migrants but also
the so called “new poors”) as well as within financial circuits and last but not least are
prevented from accessing credit. The Islamic finance, which is already operational in
several European countries, can provide solutions which are complementary to those

K&L Gates Seminar
Islamic Finance: Recent Issues and Career Opportunities
February 20, 2012
The Arab Spring of 2011, the Goldman Sachs $2bn Islamic bond, the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate - just three recent topics that have reignited interest in Islamic Finance.

This programme addressed recent issues in Islamic Finance and potential career opportunities in the industry.

Specific topics covered included:

What happens when Islamic Finance transactions go wrong? The use of arbitration to resolve disputes.
The impact of the Arab Spring of 2011 on the growth of Islamic Finance.
The convergence of Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Socially Responsible Investment principles.
The role of private equity and leasing in Islamic investing.
The Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate.
Career opportunities in Islamic Finance.
The global impact of Islamic Finance in Europe, the Middle East and the US.
Speakers included:

Dr Humayon Dar - Chairman, President & CEO - Edbiz Consulting
Jonathan Lawrence - Islamic Finance Partner - K&L Gates, London
Mohammed Amin - Islamic Finance Consultant - Conservative Muslim Forum
Kathleen Bradley - Counsel - K&L Gates, Doha