IslamicFinance.de

The IFC and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will support the construction of major infrastructure projects across the Middle East and North Africa through an investment of up to $100 million.
The investment is an attempt to stimulate economic growth in the MENA region.
According to the IFC, countries in the Middle East and North Africa must invest aproximatly $70 billion annually in infrastructure to keep up their growth rates.

The first home purchase plan approved by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the mainstream UK market is the genie out of a modern day bottle. It shows that the religious principles underlying Islamic products are important in the ethical and social finance marketplace and that Islamic principles can stimulate and improve the finance products being expanded to meet these challenging times in the residential domestic market.
Natalie Elphicke, head of structured housing finance, partner, international law firm Stephenson Harwood, states that the following characteristics apply equally to an approved Islamic home finance plan as they do to a new conventional purchase plan designed for a housing association in the north east of England: risk sharing, not profiting unjustly or unfairly, not charging excessive charges.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has suggested more specific accounting standards for real estate while increasing disclosure for Islamic banks’ investment accounts.
The move made by the Bahrain-based AAOIFI submits it is responding to the same kind of pressure to tighten standards that has been noticed in the conventional finance industry since the global financial crisis discharged in 2008.
Both suggestions were discussed at a public hearing for industry participants in Manama and there will be another hearing in Doha on April 12.

Dr Ali Mohiyuddin Al Quradaghi, chairman, Shariah Supervisory Board of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services, ahlibank Oman, and the Secretary-General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars , stated that Islamic finance industry is making mark in the world, leaving the opportunity for people to put in use the true tenets of Islam to their present-day economic needs.
Shaikh Ahmed bin Saud Al Siyabi, the Secretary-General of the ifta’a office, noted that Islamic finance should be made a part of one’s life because it is founded on Islamic Shariah.

Trevor Norman, director of Jersey-based fiduciary specialist Volaw Trust and Corporate Services, noted that UK investors and their advisers should be given permission to research products themselves instead of having to obtain a fatwa, or judgement, from a Sharia board.
Mahmood Faruqui, senior adviser for the Bank of London and the Middle East and former vice-chairman of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, added that another problem with the current system was the lack of transparency from the Sharia board in providing its judgements.

Dar Al Istithmar finished receiving the approval of Islamic scholars for the issue and the next move is depending from now on on Goldman.
Goldman's plan was to become one of the first top Western banks to gather money through Islamic bonds, but it attracted controversy in the industry, and the bank has not so far continued with the plan.
Some analysts have implied that Goldman might use the proceeds of the sukuk to lend money to clients for interest, which would not comply with Islamic law, and that the issue might not trade at par value on the Irish exchange, which would also contravene sharia law.

Arcapita Bank BSC was given permission to use cash within a budget and pay employees in bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in Manhattan certified Arcapita’s requests on an interim basis to escape “irreparable harm” being done to the company.
Arcapita was forced to search bankruptcy after hedge funds, including Euroville, derailed restructuring talks on its $1.1 billion loan due in March.

It seems that National Australia Bank (NAB) is taking into consideration a sale of up to $500 million of Sukuk as Australian investors request less risky investments.
According to two people familiar with the deal, the bank is considering the sale, which would make it the first institution to issue Sukuk in Australia.
Crescent Wealth thinks that the investable universe for Islamic funds in Australia is worth between $4 billion and $8 billion, with potential to grow to between $7 billion and $13 billion by 2019.

TCW will oversee NCB Capitals international equity funds and expand distribution of NCB products and services internationally.
TCW was selected from a field of other contending US asset managers for its leadership in US markets.
TCW will operate three funds for NCB; US, Small Cap and Healthcare equities. These funds will be available only to Saudi investors at this point, but the distribution will eventually develop internationally.

Indian expat KM is a typical example of a dream gone very wrong.
Initially, their dream was safe. Her husband earned enough and even bought a property in Goa, after borrowing from a local bank and an Indian bank.
But once the recession hit, their lives changed in a horrible way. Her husband’s company shut down, he became unemployed and was forced to max out his credit cards to make ends meet.
Moreover, the local bank filed a case against the husband over non-payment of the monthly installments, which had stopped after he lost his job.

Who will be the first Islamic financial institution to become signatory of the Natural Capital Declaration? "The Natural Capital Declaration is a statement by the financial sector demonstrating our commitment at the Rio+20 Earth Summit to work towards integrating Natural Capital criteria into our financial products and services for the 21st century.

Through it we wish to acknowledge and re-affirm the importance of Natural Capital in maintaining a sustainable global economy, and call upon the private and public sectors to work together to create the conditions necessary to maintain and enhance Natural Capital as a critical economic, ecological and social asset.

Natural Capital comprises Earth's natural assets (soil, air, water, flora and fauna), and the ecosystem services resulting from them, which make human life possible. Neither these services, nor the stock of Natural Capital that provides them, are adequately valued compared to social and financial capital. Despite being fundamental to our wellbeing, their daily use remains almost undetected within our economic system. Using Natural Capital this way is not sustainable.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has repaid in full a $750 million (Dh2.75 billion) five-year sukuk which matured on March 22 from its own sources, prooving the bank’s financial strength and comfortable liquidity position.
The sukuk was launched in 2007, through a special purpose vehicle, DIB Sukuk Company Limited, located in the Cayman Islands, being the first sukuk to be listed on both the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) and the London Stock Exchange.

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co. (ALARKAN) is certain that it will be able to repay a $1 billion Islamic bond maturing in July.
Saudi Arabia’s largest property developer has been developing cash reserves to repay the bond and can use assets and land as collateral to secure funding in the case of a shortfall.

The export credit and investment insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has secured more than $3bn (Dhs11.02bn) of business deals in 2011. The value of deals insured bounced 63% from 2010.
The flow was ascribed to the launch by ICIEC of new insurance products for political risk.

Among the 1000 UN responsible investment signatories that will face new mandatory requirements next year are Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Local Government Super Scheme, Telstra Super, AMP Capital and TWUSUPER.
Dr James Gifford, who helped create the UN backed Principles for Responsible Investment, stated that the PRI will present next year mandatory transparency for responsible investment for all 1,000+.

Standard Chartered Bank and Noor Islamic Bank operated jointly as Initial Mandate Lead Arrangers and Structuring Banks for a five years USD 175Mn Senior Secured Club Facility for Stanford Marine Group. The proceeds of the term loan have partly been utilized to refinance existing debt. Standard Chartered Bank was Facility Agent, Investment Agent, and Hedging Bank. The facility offers growth capital to acquire second hand and/or build offshore supply vessels.
The deal conatins dual currency tranches (AED and USD) and Conventional and Islamic Murabaha tranches.

The Ordinary and Extra-ordinary General Meetings of Al Baraka Banking Group took place on Wednesday 21st March 2012 in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. Discussions included: the report submitted by the Board of Directors on the Group's activities during the financial year ended 31 December, 2011, auditors report on the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2011 and the report of the Unified Sharia Supervisory Board on financial year ended 31 December 2011.
Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of the banking group stated reffering to the results that the outstanding financial results reached byt the bank in 2011 were the result of the implementation of cautiously studied ambitious strategies that made a balance between the adoption of prudent and conservative measures required.

It appears that International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp. plans to sell $1 billion of the first global Shariah-compliant dollar bills by the middle of the year.
The Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board forsees a growth from $1 trillion industry to $2.8 trillion by 2015.
It seems that the growth in Malaysia’s Islamic banking deposits has passed non-Shariah-compliant counterparts by almost three times, increasing an average 17.6 % over the past 10 years, compared with 7.1%.

Bloomberg Brief revealed the launch of its Islamic Finance weekly newsletter, which offers global investors and financial advisors critical data and analytics to remain ahead of the developments and trends in the world of Shariah-compliant finance.
The Islamic Finance newsletter analyzes Shariah-compliant bond and loan offerings in the pipeline, accumulates underwriter rankings and examines the issuance of new sukuk assets, sales of which have reached $6.6 billion in 2012, up over 300% on the prior year according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME) signed a £14 million leasing deal with Global Marine Systems Ltd.
According to the agreement, BLME will support Global Marine in the acquisition and refit of an offshore power cable installation barge. The barge will be uniquely suited for the installation of a full range of subsea power cables. The increased request for this type of cable installation barge is directly connected to the growth of offshore electricity transmission being constructed to link the off-shore wind farms now being built throughout the North Sea and surrounding waters.