IslamicFinance.de

Islamic microfinance is evolving into an increasingly popular mechanism for alleviating poverty, particularly in developing countries around the world. The Islamic finance industry as a whole is forseent to reach over $2 billion dollars in 2012 and is a continually growing sector due to its ethical principles and prohibition of riba (interest).
Islamic microfinance offers the investor a chance to get implicated in worthwhile projects which could essentially play a significant role in targeting poverty and alleviating it in many countries around the world. Moreover, it is based on the provision of financial services to the poor or developing regions which are subject to certain conditions laid down by Islamic jurisprudence, representing the merging of two growing sectors: microfinance and the Islamic finance industry.

Islamic bonds are falling behind developing-nation debt for a second quarter as investors search for higher yields in non-investment grade securities.
According to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index, Shariah-compliant notes returned 1.5 % this year and non-Islamic bonds in emerging-market countries gained 4.1 %.
Sales of Islamic debt are intensified in Indonesia, Malaysia and the GCC, while lower-rated nations such as Egypt and the Philippines are still planning issuance.

Nakheel released profit and interest payments equivalent to Dh202.2 million to its lenders. According to the restructuring commitments, the payments were due at the end of February 2012.
It appears that the timely discharge of the committed payments prooves the successful execution of the restructured operations by Nakheel.

The latest study on Islamic finance and wealth management shows that the UAE residents are estimated to be third richest in the Muslim world with per capita income of $49,600 (Dh182, 000).
It seems that Qatar leads the Muslims world with per capita income of $79,000 followed by Brunei at $51,600.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries dominate the top list with Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company has successfully ended a $215 million sukuk issuance as part of its MYR3.5 billion sukuk program established in November 2011.
The issue gathered strong interest from a well-diversified group of top Malaysian asset management companies and quality Islamic investors. The 10-year sukuk has been raised with a profit rate of 4.65 percent with a full swapped rate to dollars of 5.3 percent.
Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad was the lead arranger in this transaction.

Report offers comprehensive reference material about Shariah scholars in the Middle East and around the world as Islamic Finance industry assets top US$1 trillion. Failaka Advisors, in partnership with Paris-based Grapes Market Research & Advisory, has released the second edition of The Shariah Report.

The 2012 version of the report is the world’s first comprehensive report on Shariah scholars, with detailed profiles of more than 120 of the top scholars in the Middle East and from around the globe highlighting Islamic Finance’s global reach.

“Spanning from East to West, The Shariah Report profiles Shariah Scholars from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe & North America, providing insight into the depth and breadth of the industry”, added Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, Founding Director at Grapes. Each scholarly profile comprises country of birth, academic qualifications, a cross-referenced list of institution where each scholar serves as a Shariah Board member, and a list of their important works on Islamic finance.

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

Takaful Emarat will reveal the first investment fund conceived and developed in-house, which the company sees as a milestone in its fourth year of operations. All the necessary approvals have been gained, including the crucial one from the company's Sharia board.
The open-ended fund has a multi-year tenure and will be managed by Riyadh Capital.
This is a crucial year for the Islamic insurer, being a joint venture between Al Buhaira National Insurance Co and Austria's Uniqa Group.

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

CALL FOR PAPERS - Islamic capital markets, Deadline: Submission of Abstract: March 15, 2012
Islamic Research and Training Istitute – Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Islamic capital markets are to become an important part of the Islamic financial system. While new products are steadily coming into the market and the Islamic investment instrument are growing, Islamic capital markets still constitute a very small niche. For a discernible impact on the investment promotion, market stability, and equitable socio-economic development there is a growing need to accelerate the process of product development, to create conducive regulatory environment and to improve the market practices. This task requires development of new human capital and knowledge base.

With this larger objective, the immediate focus of this conference is on three issues:
• Design and use of Islamic financial products for Islamic capital markets.
• Identification of the needs for and the implications of market regulations for development of Islamic capital market.

Islamic Finance and Development, March 24-25, 2012, Austin Hall

Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

The Tenth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, hosted by Harvard Law School’s Islamic Finance Project, will be held at Austin Hall, Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 24 and 25, 2012. The theme of the conference will be “Islamic Finance and Development.”

The Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance provides a venue for the critical and objective examination of the purposes, theory, practice, structure, and institutions of the rapidly developing field of Islamic finance. Continuing in this direction, the Tenth Forum sets the evolution of the Islamic financial industry within the context of the economic and political development of Muslim majority markets. The Forum will critically examine traditional frameworks under which Islamic Finance has developed as well as the new challenges raised by recent events, including the global financial crisis and the “Arab Spring” movements in the Middle East.

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The Malaysian banking system and bond market have sufficient liquidity to meet borrowers' funding needs unlike in some Asian countries where companies are crawling to launch local currency bonds because of difficulty in getting foreign currency loans.
These Asian companies are even presenting higher yields for the bonds which are seeing less take-up from European banks as they pull back funding to the region.
Reuters recently reported that corporates were speeding into launching bonds in some Asian countries as they were not able to get banks to lend them US dollars or euros.

A controversial plan by Goldman Sachs to launch an Islamic bond has fired a global debate on whether conventional banks in the West should be allowed to engage in Islamic finance.
Some participants argued investment banks such as Goldman should be forbidden to issue Islamic bonds because the funds they raised could help to finance other parts of their business that did not comply with sharia or Islamic law.
Other participants stated the industry should focus instead on ensuring that each of their Islamic transactions complied with sharia law.

It seems that small and medium-sized Islamic banks may need to merge if they want to evolve into bigger regional players capable of filling the funding hole left by shrinking Western banks. This statement came from Salah Jaidah, the head of Islamic finance at Deutsche Bank.
He added that whilst Islamic banks might not immediately be able to face the challenge, within time they will be able to reposition themselves.
The Gulf Co-operation Council area has over 100 Islamic banks, aligned from Al Rajhi Bank of Saudi Arabia with a $25 billion market cap to small unlisted lenders.
The idea of a so-called Islamic "mega-bank" has already been promoted in the region by Bahrain-based Al Baraka banking group.

In its 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report illustrated by masterpieces of Islamic calligraphy, by the Chinese Muslim master Hajji Noordeen, deals with the theme “The path to corporate transformation – converting a company to Islam”.

Bank Sarasin reviews the complexities of converting a business to Islam, a topic which is rarely discussed or written about. Conversion is complicated by the need to address every aspect of a business, the lack of broadly accepted standards and regulations, and differences in the Muslim world itself. The Report, released today, is the Bank’s third on Islamic Wealth Management.

Converting a business to Islam can increase the value of a company by 18-25% due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments. But the conversion process is arduous, extending from the design to distribution and beyond, to how the company spends its profits. As Sarasin notes, the market potential is massive, with the global Muslim population expected to increase by 26% to 2030, to 2.2 billion, rivalling China and India in terms of market size.

The Libyan Foreign Bank will present Shariah-compliant products as the government prepares regulation to make Islamic banking the norm in the North African nation following the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi.
Shariah-compliant finance may acquire the benefits of regime changes in North Africa, where protests last year overthrew three leaders who persecuted Islamists. While Muslims make up about 95 percent of North Africa’s 220 million people, access to Shariah-compliant financial services is still limited because past leaders, including Qaddafi, held back the industry’s growth to curb the influence of Islamic parties.

The success of Saudi Arabia’s first government-backed Islamic bond issue, and the dairy company Almarai’s planned sukuk, will set the stage for what will probably be one of the kingdom’s strongest years for Islamic bonds.
The Almarai bond plus the four as-yet-unannounced sukuk issues that HSBC is also preparing, would total “multiple billions” of Saudi riyals. Saudi Arabia’s government is encouraging the current expansion of the sukuk market.
According to Khalid Howladar, an analyst with Moody’s Investment in Dubai and Fahad al-Saif, the HSBC sukuk developer, by issuing government-backed sukuks, Saudi Arabia also is trying to expand the capacity of its capital markets.

According to Islamic Wealth Management (IWM) Report 2012, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) should have a unified rule under one regulator for Islamic investment products for ensuring lower cost of funds.
Bank Sarasin managing director and head of Islamic Finance Fares Mourad and Monzer Kahf, a leading Islamic finance scholar lkaunched the report.
the report presented the fact that reducing expenses and increasing the availability would increase competition, benefiting local investors and further the GCC’s development as a centre of excellence for Islamic finance.

It seems that a long-awaited mega Islamic bank with the headquarter in Bahrain may be launched this year and $600 million of its $one billion capital will be contributed by Islamic banks in the Arab region.
The remaining capital will be subscribed by local sovereign wealth funds and other financial institutions and investors.
According to Adnan Youssef, chairman of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB), first noted that the bank would have a capital of $10 billion and would be a joint venture between regional Islamic banks and other investors.

According to Chief Executive Officer Igor Finogenov, Eurasian Development Bank wants to expand Shariah-compliant financing after helping arrange a deal last year.
The bank is searching to boost lending that respects the Islam’s ban on interest after serving as mandated lead arranger for a $60 million syndicated Murabaha facility for Kazan, Russia-based AK Bars Bank in September.