IslamicFinance.de

Shoura Secretary-General Muhammed Al-Ghamdi said the proposed amendments to the mortgage law were approved with certain reservations. The house felt that certain wordings related to loans should be modified to express the right objectives and process of housing loan disbursements.
The Finance Committee would carry out the anticipated modifications and resubmit the draft law at a subsequent session of the council.

Kenya has ambitions of becoming the Islamic finance hub of East Africa and has the first mover advantage. But contrary to recent reports that Kenya may pass legislation to eliminate tax barriers to sukuk issuance by the end of the year, Islamic bankers in East Africa's largest economy stress that it is highly unlikely that any major developments will occur in terms of tax neutrality and other legislation that is required to facilitate products such as sukuk in the local market.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank appointed Amr Saad Al Menhali as the new Head of Islamic Banking for the Bank.
In addition to his business role, Amr is also a nominated board member by ADCB for Abu Dhabi Finance (ADF) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Islamic Finance Company (ADCIF).

India may soon get its first foreign Islamic bank with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking government approval to allow Turkey's Bank Asya to offer Shariah-compliant lending in the country. Bank Asya is keen to start its Indian operations through a representative office in Mumbai.
RBI has requested the government to consider the Turkish bank's application within 45 days.

The threshold limit required by Nakheel, the Dubai-based master Developer, to implement its restructuring proposal has almost been reached.
Under Nakheel's restructuring proposal, trade creditors will receive repayment through 40 per cent cash and 60 per cent in the form of a sukuk (Islamic bond).
Nakheel said the debt restructuring process is expected to be completed by the first half of 2011 and it will soon be issuing restructuring agreements, including a term sheet for an Islamic bond offering, to trade creditors who have signed on to its restructuring plan.

The last and final day of JEF 2011 included a prolific discussion on Islamic banking and finance with Sheikh Saleh Kamel, as a keynote speaker. Governor of SAGIA HE Amr Al Dabbagh shed light on what Saudi's Investment plans for the next 5 years.
Sheikh Saleh called for the unification of Fatwa Authorities at banks. He highlighted the importance of a managing entity to ensure that Islamic transactions are viably controlled and stressed need for proper understanding of its true meaning for proper application of Islamic Finance.

Dubai Islamic Banks lawyers stated in their closing arguments in court that the loan facilities, which allegedly led to a $500 million fraud, would not have been given had it not been for the approval of two Pakistani former bank executives on trial.
They presented a list of claims to the court. However, the defence team, on behalf of the five men accused of defrauding the bank of more than $500 million (Dh1.8 billion), argued in the Court of First Instance that their clients were paying back the loans they took in instalments.

Bahrain's economy remains on target to reach 4.5 percent growth, as banking operations in the country return to normal.
Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa confirmed that the country's economic outlook is bright despite recent events. Shaikh Ahmed shared positive economic indicators with the attending senior officials, including Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed Al Maraj, and stated that the economy has proven stable throughout recent events and is poised for further growth.

William Gates, Jr. and Warren Buffett landed in India to preach giving to India’s super-rich.
Their visit is part of their “Giving Pledge” campaign, which was launched last year to encourage the world’s wealthiest individuals to donate most of their money to charities. The two have, so far, secured commitments from about 60 wealthy Americans to give away most of their fortunes to charities.

Islamic Bank of Britain PLC has reported a loss attributable to owners of the company of 0.63 pence per share, for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to a loss attributable to owners of the company of 1.8 pence per share, for the year ended December 31, 2009. The company has also provided its outlook for 2011.
Islamic Bank of Britain said that the market conditions look set to persist into 2011 and the directors and management will continue to identify opportunities to mitigate the adverse effects.

Saudi's Alinma Bank and the Saudi arm of Tokio Marine have signed an agreement to set up an insurance firm with a capital of 200 million riyals ($53 million).
In the statement there was said that Saudi Basic Industries Corp will hold a 5 percent stake in the insurance firm which will float a 30 percent stake in an initial public offering after regulatory approval.

The shareholders of the AlBaraka Banking Group re-elected Saleh Abdullah Kamel as the group’s chairman of the for another three year term during a meeting held at Sheraton Hotel on Wednesday. The shareholders’s meeting was attended by 91% of the group’s total shareholding.
The new board includes Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Abdullah A. Saudi, Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Saleh Mohammed Al Yousef, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Anwar Ibrahim, Abdul Ellah Sabbahi, Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi, Yousif Ali Fadil bin Fadil, Jamal bin Ghalaita, Bassem I. Awadallah , Mohyedin Saleh Kamel, Fahad Abdullah Al-Rajhi.

With a supportive regulatory and tax framework and proximity to large Muslim populations in its neighbourhood, it is only a matter of time before Singapore becomes a major player in Islamic finance.
Analysts say Sukuk, or Islamic bonds and Syariah-compliant real estate investment trusts, are two products that have strong growth potential in Singapore.
One reason behind Singapore's success in Islamic finance is the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) efforts to create a supportive framework for a competitive Islamic finance landscape.

Organising the workshop was in itself part of the Access Bank plc’s efforts to create awareness on sustainable business practices in Nigeria.
Ebenezer Olufowose, executive director, disclosed that sustainability business practices in Access Bank means “Balancing economic growth, social development and environmental protection to ensure future generations are not compromised by actions taken today.”

Sustainable investment, socially-responsible investment (SRI) and environmental, social, governance (ESG) approaches have been interesting topics in the funds industry for a very long time.
A number of studies have confirmed that investors are struggling to make informed decisions as they attempt to build a coherent sustainable investment strategy.
Nevertheless, the European investment industry has tried in the recent past to attract fresh money by launching new active managed sustainability funds in emerging markets or linked to hot topics like green energy. There are also new exchange traded funds (ETFs) which track indices based on sustainable or ethical selection criteria.

The government acquires 49% of its shares, while 51% were offered for public subscription with a capital of KD 10 million. KFH has been keen to prioritize its clients, since they have exerted sterling efforts to set it up, and have continued to support it at a time when many people doubted that it will continue.
Moreover, KFH introduced Shariah compliant banking services and products that are used by people daily, where they are now familiar with terms such as Ijarah, Murabaha, Istisnaa, and speculations.
Regarding KFH’s social responsibility role, it spent last year more than KD 8 million for social issues, and has also financed several major developmental projects in Kuwait and the world.

Kuwait Investment Authority will establish a 1 billion dinar ($3.6 billion) portfolio to invest in Kuwait's real estate market to take advantage of lower property prices.
The portfolio will be managed initially by Kuwait Finance House, with the possibility of assigning two other managers.

A British businessman on Wednesday claimed in court that he repaid Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) double the Dh1.8 billion he is charged, along with six others, with embezzling.
DIB's former financing department manager 39-year-old Pakistani, U.H., and his 50-year-old compatriot deputy, R.U., denied helping four of the suspects.

The Islamic Development Bank Group has pledged financial support worth $3 billion for socio-economic development in Pakistan.
A high level technical mission led by Mr. Gurbuz Gonul from the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank group visited Pakistan during the period 13-22 March 2011 to embark on developing Member Country Partnership strategy (MCPS) that will lay out the partnership and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Development Bank Group over the next four years (2012-2015).

The Majed bin Abdul Aziz Society for Development and Social Services has launched its first sustainability report. It also announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with Al-Jazeera bank.
The report was launched in the presence of the society’s chairman Prince Mishaal bin Majed. The society was awarded the top score by the Global Reporting Initiative for the sustainability report.