IslamicFinance.de

Bloomberg, attended by Bank Negara Malaysia, has launched a Malaysian Foreign Currency Sukuk Index (BMSSUTR), a non-ringgit denominated index.
The new Bloomberg index will provide a global benchmark for the performance of sukuk bonds and the possibility to track movements of foreign currency issues.

The Board of Sharia Scholars has approved the Source products. That means that they agree with Islamic finance rules of not using or charging interest.
Following this approval, the Source Physical Gold P-ETC is now one of the largest Shariah-compliant physical gold products globally, with more than $1.2bn (£7.36m) in assets.

Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd launched the Alliance Family Takaful Investment-Linked Plan.
In a statement tha bnak announced that this product launch is a collaboration between Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd with Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, and FWU Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of German-based financial services provider, FWU Group.

Ayman A. Khaleq is the new managing partner of the international law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP's Middle East offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh.
Khaleq’s practice focuses on structured finance and debt capital markets transactions with a particular emphasis on the structuring and documentation of Islamic finance and investment products.

It appears that sustainability/corporate social responsibility and the annual report for communicating long-term stakeholder value creation are very similar. Eaton Corporation has found that the best way to report on its sustainability efforts is within the annual report, and the company has been doing so since its 2006 annual report.
It is being recognized that the Eaton perspective would be a big step for companies that have a successful track record with a separate sustainability report.

The Saudi Corporate Social Responsibility Forum to support small enterprises and assist productive families finance their projects. This decision came after a number of businessmen signed an agreement to set up a SR100-million Endowment (Waqf) fund. The corporate also decided to rehabilitate about 3,000 buildings in various cities and towns of Makkah region to be easily accessible to the disabled.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal stated that the establishment of the fund was aimed to achieve sustainable development.

A successful roll-out of Islamic banking system could easily see the industry in Oman gaining up to $6bn in Islamic assets over next few years.
Global Shari'a-compliant assets are estimated to have crossed $1 trillion in 2010, growing at a sustainable 15-30% per year.
The Central Bank of Oman has permitted conventional banks to operate their Islamic banking business through a 'window' operation. The result therefor was that the market could see a number of conventional banks entering the Islamic finance space in the next couple of years.

Gulf Arab states is planing to have a single Shariah board for the region’s Islamic financial institutions in five to 10 years. A “supreme Shariah council” will help reduce the cost of issuing sukuk and boost Islamic services offered by financial institutions that comply with the religion’s ban on interest.
Hussain Hamed Hassan, head of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB)’s Shariah committee, criticized central banks for treating Shariah- compliant financial institutions as if they were non-Islamic companies. He added that only a few central banks were exceptions, including those in Bahrain and Sudan.

The Sudanese Islamic Bank of Khartoum is planing to move into Kenya in what would be the first cross-border expansion of Islamic finance in East Africa.
Kenya is in the process of changing its finance laws to allow Islamic finance. enya has also reformed its capital markets laws to allow the launch of Sukuk.

Noor Islamic Bank expects to win at least two mandates to help sell sukuk out of Turkey this year. The statement was given by Chief Executive Officer Hussain Al Qemzi.

Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance will launch a template for sukuk ijarah. The purpose is to cut the cost of issuing the debt and strengthen the Islamic finance business. Thi statement comes from Nasser Saidi, the executive director.
The institute expects to release the document by year-end.

In order to spur investments from the neighbouring Arab region and Southeast Asia, Egypt will launch its first Islamic debt guidelines and amend its capital market law.
This move will allow Islamic investors to invest in the 180 companies listed on the Egyptian stock market.

The members of the new Saudi Re's Shari’ah Board are: Sheikh Dr. Abdulsattar Abu Ghuddah; Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari; and Sheikh Yousef Al-Farraj.

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) is going to donate three mobile health care units to cater to the elderly and provide them with primary health care services.
Mr. Ebrahim H. Ebrahim, CEO and Board Member of KHCB, announced that KHCB is continuously engaging and participating in social responsibility initiatives that are worthy.

The Social Development Forum, opened by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, discussed a number of new initiatives to boost social development.
One of the initiatives a special session on the role of youth in social development. The theme was “Youth: Strategic Partner of Development” and participants discussed how to involve young men and women in social development programs.
Another initiative was the idea to establish a digital library for social welfare in Muslim societies.

HE Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, stated that the number of Islamic banks operating in the UAE now stands at eight. The Governor also congratulated the Sultanate of Oman on the licensing of its first Islamic bank and welcomed the Central Bank of Oman to the Islamic finance community of regulators.
Despite this, Al Suwaidi was the one that directed the majority of his remarks to the state of Islamic finance within the UAE itself.

Pointon York has launched the following four Sharia compliant SIPP products:
1. e-SIPP. A low cost SIPP which can be easily managed online
2. Single Investment SIPP. A straightforward SIPP for clients wishing to invest in a single asset
3. Individual SIPP. A fully flexible SIPP allowing an extensive range of investments
4. Corporate SIPP. Suitable for employers. The CSIPP has three tiers providing flexibility according to employee levels. It is made up of the e-SIPP, the Single Investment SIPP and the Individual SIPP.
The reason for this is the demand from Muslims for a suitable retirement vehicle.

In order to equivalate the growing demand from UK Muslims for a suitable retirement vehicle, Pointon York has launched a range of Shari’ah-compliant Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs).
Sultan Choudhury, Commercial Director, stated that people are attentive to the risks of not putting enough aside in pensions for their retirement.
The four Shari’ah-compliant SIPP products that Pointon York will offer are:
- e-SIPP. A low cost SIPP which can be easily managed online
- Single Investment SIPP. A straightforward SIPP for clients wishing to invest in a single asset
- Individual SIPP. A fully flexible SIPP allowing an extensive range of investments
- Corporate SIPP. Suitable for employers, it has three tiers providing flexibility. It is made up of the e-SIPP, the Single Investment SIPP and the Individual SIPP.

National Bank for Development (NBD) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank launched "5 years Sukuk plus". This term means an Islamic Shari'a compliant medium term saving product in Egyptian pound. It will give customers annual profit posted on monthly basis with expected profit rate ranging between 9% and 9.25%.
The minimum value of "5 years Sukuk plus" is EGP1000 and multiples. The Sukuk profit is posted on the customer's account on the first day of each month.

Egypt will launch its first Islamic debt guidelines and amend its capital market law in a try to spur Arab investment and open itself to investment from the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia.
This will allow oil-rich countries to invest in the roughly 180 companies listed on the Egyptian stock market.
A statement published by the financial watchdog's website revealed that the proposal will be discussed by experts and other involved parties before being floated for final approval by Egypt's cabinet.