IslamicFinance.de

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank launched a capital protected Soft Commodity Note that provides an opportunity for investors to invest in this Murabaha based Note, the profit of which is determined by the prices performance of cotton, corn and sugar.
This is a opportunity given to investors to a return based on the expected performance of the three commodities. Their price depends on growth in population and buying power of the emerging economies of China, India, Asia and Africa.

When it comes to decisions about investments, ESG criteria are too important to be ignored. risklab, AllianzGI's specialist investment and risk advisor, showed in a report that environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk optimised investment strategies can improve portfolio efficiency importantly. Therefore, as an important risk factor, ESG should be part of the investment research.
ESG risk factors are also important for core asset classes such as developed market equity.

PT Bank Ina Perdana, acquired by Affin Holdings Bhd, will be changed into an Islamic bank probably in two years time.
Kamarul Ariffin, chief executive officer (CEO), pointed out that this proccess will be done slowly.

Because of the amplification of Islamic banking and insurance, banking and insurance regulators expect a new legislation that allows ompanies to invest in Sharia-compliant securities.
Kenya's first Islamic insurance firm, Takaful Insurance, was initiated 3 weeks ago. The first branch was opened in Eastleigh, Nairobi. That is why an absolute change is needed.

The conversion of PT Bank Ina Perdana of Indonesia into a syariah-compliance bank is expected by Affin Holdings Bhd to be completed in two years.

HSBC stated that less efflux has been spotted during recent political unrest than during the financial crisis.
Arindam Das, regional head of custody at HSBC and deputy head securities services for the Mena region, expressed hid oppinion that the reason that money is not flowing out could be because of the anticipation of something good that will happen.

In order to extend Philippines, the only bank from this country has been placed on the auction block.
As part of its five-year rehabilitation program, interested parties will be given a 49 percent stake Al Amanah Islamic and Investment Bank of the Philippines (Amanah Islamic Bank).
The sale will help Islamic banking to enter expertise and technology.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 23, 2011 – The Muslim Philanthropy Award winners were announced at the 4th annual banquet of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists in Dubai, UAE.

Every year, the Muslim Philanthropy Award honors an individual, a grantmaking institution and a corporation for their distinguished contribution to the field of philanthropy.

The Muslim Philanthropy Awards for 2011 were awarded to H.R.H. Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Personality) for demonstrating outstanding civic and charitable responsibility; Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Arabia (Grantmaker) for showing long-standing commitment to economic empowerment, human dignity, and institutional building; and Abraaj Capital, UAE (Corporation) for demonstrating longstanding leadership in advancing strategic philanthropy, creativity in responding to societal problems, and having significant positive impact on corporate giving in MENA region.

Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, the head of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, was appointed Syria’s Minister of Economy and Trade. This leads to his leaving the post at the regulator.
Syria, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Baath party has been in power since 1963, is the latest Middle Eastern country to be hit by a wave of uprisings that ousted longtime rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and sparked armed conflict in Libya.

Bermuda wants to set itself as global leader in the Takaful sector.
Cheryl Packwood, Business Bermuda CEO, stated that the island intends to leverage its position as a dominant regional financial and business hub to attract new.

Malaysia's Second Capital Market Master Plan (CMP2) was initiated in the presence of Zarinah Anwar, chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), by Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak.
CMP2, with instant effect, outlines the road map, the strategies and agenda for the development and regulation of the Malaysian capital market for the next decade, which includes both the conventional and Islamic capital markets.

Althouth the Turkish participation (Islamic) banking sector isn't as attractive as other sectors, it is one of the most competitive in the global Islamic finance landscape.
Therefore, the datas for the following banks:Turkiye Finans, Asya Bank, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank and Albaraka Turk Participation Bank is very encouraging.

The Malaysian Islamic banking system (MIBS) acomplished a very important approval by the resilience of the industry and its sustained recovery. Bank Negara Malaysia's 2010 Financial Stability Report shows that the MIBS were still resilient throughout 2010 supported by high capitalization.
Islamic banking institutions were very profitable having a fix income and improving their assets. This profitability allowed the bank to Islamic banking institutions to provide competitive returns to their depositors.

The formation of a single board of trustee including all donors and the establishment was advised to the Boards of Trustees of the Funds (BTF) of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Niger.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Chairman of the OIC BTF, held the OIC BTF meeting.

The key challenges and opportunities addressed in the Islamic Wealth Management Report are:

•Managing the Islamic wealth cycle through the entire process of wealth acquisition, preservation and distribution and achieving the required balance between spiritual and worldly obligations.
•Understanding the primary issues facing Waqf donors despite the strong growth drivers in this market: poor performance is due in part to the shortage of professionals leading to low quality asset management and lack of transparency.
•Considering the suitability of the Swiss private banking family office structure as a wealth management tool to ensure effective Islamic governance.
•Addressing the challenges facing Islamic mutual funds to achieve growth and performance.
•Recommending standardisation, education and diversification of Sukuk in order to increase the supply of products and the liquidity of the market.
•Analysing Islamic equity and indices performance over the last year to illustrate that diversification remains key for investment without compromising Islamic principles.

Bankers and business experts concluded that Algeria needs legal reforms in order to encourage the growth of sharia-compliant finance.
Islamic finance currently accounts for 1% of banking activity in Algeria.
Fouaz Sid, a bank clerk working for the Algerian arm of the French bank Société Générale, stated that in order to encourage them to diversify finance products in Algeria, every product which conforms to sharia law must be able to compete with the more traditional products.

At the Islamic economics and finance that will be held in Doha on Dec. 18-20, 2011 with the main theme “Sustainable growth and inclusive economic development from an Islamic Perspective” are invited all papers.
The organizers of the conference are: the Qatar Foundation’s Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), the International Association for Islamic Economics, and the Statistical, Economic & Social Research & Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

Gulf Finance House (GFH) made a progres by reducing its net loss from $728 million in 2009 to 349 million US dollars in 2010.
The banks debt profile was restructured by repaying $200 million of $300 million Murabaha financing facility in February 2010 to syndicates arranged by West LB. The bank also shortened its costs by 20%.
By presenting a plan at the Annual General Meeting from November 2010, GFH and its shareholders approved resolutions that contained 4:1 share consolidation and other capital reduction measures including raising up to $500 million through a convertible Murabaha to strengthen the Bank's capital base and fund its growth strategy, and acquiring an additional 10 percent stake in Khaleeji Commercial Bank.
This plan brought $100 million to the bank.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Talem signed an agreement that give students the right to extended payment loans.
ADCB wants to support every student from the beginning of their education until the end, when they become proffessionals.

There is a possibility that the Islamic finance will launch this year in the Tatarstan republic in the form of sukuk.
Gazprombank has been researching and developing Islamic finance tools for several years. The Director of Gazprombank stated that Russia is ready for sukuk.