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Dar Assafaa a branch of Attijariwafa Bank is currently the sole Islamic finance provider in Morocco, despite strong local deman of about 94 % as stated by a study of Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS) in 2012. In 2010 VAT tax regulation has been amended to allow for Murabaha offers. Still dedicated Islamic banking regulation is seen as pre-requisite to offer.

According to Forbes Middle East, the charity revenues in the MENA region have marked the highest numbers last year. $564.4 million (Dh2.1 billion) have been spent on charity by institutions and organizations, the most prominent of them being Social Reform Society — General Secretariat of Charitable Work in Kuwait, Direct Aid and the UAE charity Dar Al Ber Society.

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.

S&P Indices made an anouncement that a new Index will be launched due to increase in the demand for a shariah-compliant benchmark in Islamic countries. The new S&P/OIC COMCEC 50 Shariah Index will measure the performance of 50 leading Shariah-compliant companies from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Eligible countries and territories for the Index are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) announced their expansion to Iraq yesterday. By opening a branch in Iraq, the bank becomes the first financial institution in the UAE which launches operations there with license from the Iraqi Central Bank. The branch of ADIB will be situated in Baghdad and will be managed by Jawdat Mahmoud Jawdat. ADIB aims to develop the Islamic finance industry in Iraq using best in class Islamic banking products.

Islamic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are having serious difficulty attracting new investment while Western investors, on the other hand, move into conventional ETFs. This contrast is said to be caused by the Gulf's investment culture and the principles choice of financial products by institutions. Despite expected growth in Islamic ETFs due to higher interest in financial products like sukuk, amounts of fresh money committed to Islamic ETFs have hardly risen or have even stopped.

According to a report from Philanthropy Management magazine, small and mid-sized philanthropies increasingly decide on a single outscourced chief investment officer (CIO). However, it os often discussed on an industry level what influence and liability such a CIO should have. There are differences between industry investors which is why some industry aggreement is sought in regard of the best way to apply this kind of strategy and regarding discretion over investment decisions.

New internship to analyze sector with over $270 billion in estimated assets

Riyadh, 20 July 2012: Today a multinational group of companies dedicated to the Islamic banking industry announced the first nominee for the Islamic Banking & Finance internship, cosponsored by Bank of London & the Middle East (www.blme.com) in London, Wafi International in Riyadh (www.waficorp.com) and Safa Investment Services (www.safainvest.com) in Geneva and Riyadh.

Thomas R. Woods, graduating end 2012 from Durham University (U.K.) with a Master’s degree in Islamic Finance, was chosen to serve for six months. Fluent in Arabic, Mr. Woods will focus first on global capital markets and professional asset management from the BLME offices in London, and then will conduct the first-ever study of historic investment returns at Islamic endowments (awqaf) at the Safa offices in Riyadh. Wafi will supervise Mr. Woods’ work in Saudi Arabia.

SmartyPig, a conventional concept to promote savings, which was founded in 2008, has used a combination of social networking and banking to reach its mission: The company encourages people to save for specific goals and, so far, it has helped people reach almost $3 billion in savings goals. In an online account a goal for a specific purchase is set. The money transfer to this account can be completed automatically. After that, through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, friends and family members have the opportunity to make their contribution to the goal. After reaching the amount dedicated retailers offering discounts for those doing savings.

Despite the initial high optimism after Ali Abdullah Saleh's fall from power, almost half of the country's population suffer from starvation, says the World Food Programme. The appeals for humanitarian help made by Oxfam and Islamic Relief to the UN resultet in a minor raise of funds. Still, instead of $38m, the UN has decided on only $586m. Suggested reasons for this reaction are lack of media coverage, associations with al-Qaida and lack of political sway as well as donor fatigue.

According to the Saudi Arabian Mortgage Law which was adopted by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, insurance will be a prerequisite for mortgages. This means that without insurance, no No mortgage finance provider would finance a house. The new law is expected to affect positively or even to boost the Saudi insurance market and the mortgage takaful in particular.

The Islamic Bank of Britain offers a two-year fixed account with an expected profit rate of 4pc. People of any faith can take advantage of this table-topping offer. Since the bank's investments go to Sharia compliant and ethical trading activities, the 4pc are not paid as interest but offered as an 'expected profit rate'. This account rate os only available from July 21 until August 19.

The Freedom and Justice Party has announced it financial development plans which will include waqf. Thus, multiple small subscriptions to a sukuk will make their contribution in form of cash or other assets instead of a single wealthy donor. However, the efficiency of waqf management in Egypt is largely criticized.

A government- guaranteed Islamic medium-term notes programme (IMTN) with a tenure of up to 20 years in weight of RM3 billion will be issued by the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank Bhd (SME Bank). According to the bank's managing director, the first issuing will be in accordance with the investment structure knon as the wakalah structure. AmInvestment Bank Bhd, Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd are appointed as the joint lead arrangers and joint lead managers for the sukuk.

In a sukuk auction which took place on Tuesday, Indonesia as able to raise 460 billion rupiah ($48.65 million). Accourding to the debt office, the price was below the goal of 500 billion rupiah. The sukuk was a 25-year project-based bond at a weighted average yield of 6.69 percent. There were no winning bids for the rest of the sukuks in the auction.

Facing a debt issue, Kuwaiti investment firm National Industries Group Holding (NIG) asked creditors for extension. Since a $475-million sukuk matures next month, they asked for a four-year extension. The problem lies in refinancing the debt after borrowing costs rose, which firms who borrowed cheap short-term cash in the boom years to fund an asset-buying spree cannot complete.

Renewable energy such as hydropower, solar and wind energy is becoming focus of some Islamic banks. Especially solar power projects attract major investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Among the projects are Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City and the German-led Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII). It is expected that energy export thrughout the MENA region and into Europe will become possible.

This year's Ramadan shall bring joy to over 3.000 people thanks to a charitable campaigne of the Bank of the Year in the UAE - the United Arab Bank (UAB). Together with Awqaf & Minors' Affairs Foundation they will disburse meals during the holy month. Thus, they will become part of the giving spirit of the Ramadan and hope to make their contribution to the development of the society towards betterment.

Bank of Amercia/Merrill Lynch released a report about GCC 2020 looking at the core trends of modernising infrastructure, growth and decoupling from oil and that the region should look towards higher value added sectors. "First, and most immediately, we believe heavy investment in petrochemicals will now begin to see improving returns due to their global competitive advantage. Second, we believe a shift will require an ongoing need to invest in regional infrastructure. Third, we see a social and economic need for a growing middle class, supporting the growth of consumer sectors. Our message: own Saudi petchems, own GCC builders and building materials, own Saudi and UAE consumer plays, own Saudi banks."