IslamicFinance.de

CIMB Asset Management has launched a monthly newsletter about the Sukuk market:

"Industry practitioners are positive that 2011 will favour the sukuk industry and various indicators show that a delayed resuscitation of the Islamic bond market is on track this year. As economies recover and high crude oil prices help to revive the market, sales of international sukuk are forecasted to grow over USD22 billion this year, which represents a 29 per cent increase from the previous year. The upswing in corporate spending, an increase in issuers seeking funding diversification and improving investor sentiment in the Gulf are also expected to fuel the sukuk market globally.

According to the HSBC/NASDAQ Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index, the difference between average yields for emerging-market sukuk and the London interbank offered rate narrowed to 282.7 basis points on
6 January 2011 - the least since August 2008. Industry practitioners agree that the low sukuk yield spreads should entice sukuk issuers to tap the market.

Alberto Brugnoni, ASSAIF, will moderate the Session on 'Finance and philanthropy' at the “4th World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists - Defining the Roadmap for the Next Decade” that will convene at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai on March 23-24, 2011

Muslim Philanthropy is at a crossroad, challenged to build new models of giving while simultaneously refining old methods embedded in vibrant Islamic tradition. The foremost challenge in the field is to promote strategic and accountable philanthropy that complements and enhances the generations-old conventional charity, which is often personal and spontaneous

The Session will examine within a common framework the failure of zakat to achieve most of its socio-economic objectives, the stagnation of waqf institutions in performing their designated social functions and the growing divergence between the aspirations of Islamic economics and the realities of the Islamic finance industry. It will also offer actionable programme plans for zakat and innovative ways of using the institution of waqf to establish social enterprises, as possible common solutions

Top organizations representing Sri Lanka's lawyers and accountants have brought together experts in Islamic finance to broaden understanding of one of the faster growing niches in the financial sector.
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka Division and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said they are hosting program on Islamic Finance and Banking on March 28.
Islamic finance is compliant with Shariah or Islamic law which prohibits charging of interest, speculating with derivatives or options or investing in firms that produce pork or pornography.

The not-for-profit Jersey Finance opens Abu Dhabi office to tap Gulf wealth from family offices and high networth individuals even as currency fluctuations erode values.
Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency where financial services are the largest industry. Jersey Finance, a not-for-profit organization that is tasked with promoting Jersey as an International Financial Center, has opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi, close on the heels of another in Mumbai, India. It sees a significant outflow of investment from the UAE to offshore jurisdictions.

Cites risk averse mode of banks and lack of developed credit bureaus in the UAE.
The recomandation of Dubai Dr Nasser Saidi, chief economist of the DIFC Authority, is to establish an Emirates Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (EMGC) that would provide up to 30 per cent of the mortgage value and support the gap in the UAE mortgage market.

An academy will soon be set up to educate Muslims about investments in various financial sectors, including stock exchange, capital market and banking in accordance to the principals of Sharia (Islamic law).
Pragmatic Wealth Management Pvt . Ltd is coming up with an academy where educated youth will be encouraged to seek employment and do business in the financial sector where participation of Muslims at present is shockingly low.

Nigeria plans to license at least two Islamic financial institutions this year.
It will get help from Malaysia to expand its Sharia-compliant industry in a nation where 70 per cent of people have no access to regular banking services.
Nigeria signed an agreement with Malaysia's central bank to cooperate in Islamic financial services, which included boosting micro-lending.

Gold investment accounts are fast gaining popularity among investors as they are comparatively cheaper to invest in than physical gold.
Taking a cue from their popularity, a growing number of financial institutions are offering these products to their customers as an alternative investment option.
Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd (KFHMB) CEO Jamelah Jamaluddin said demand for gold has risen significantly as buyers ranging from investors, speculators, hedge funds, central banks and the public, continue to buy gold.

The Islamic Bank of Britain is being acquired by the Qatari International Islamic Bank in an unconditional cash offer.
Under the terms of the deal, shareholders in the Islamic Bank of Britain can receive one penny in cash for each share. The Offer represents a 70.4% discount to the closing price of 3.38p per share last night.
The directors of the Islamic Bank of Britain have said that the terms of the offer are fair and reasonable.

Barwa Bank will participate in Qatar Real Estate and Investment Exhibition (QREX 2011) from March 22 to 25, to highlight its new home finance offering, which is arranged through the “Ijara” instrument.
Visitors of Barwa Bank’s stand in QREX 2011 can apply for home financing of up to QR10m, allowing them flexible, Shariah compliant repayment options of up to 20 years. Repayment terms are highly competitive and linked to the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) lending rate, meaning that customers will benefit from having their rates track the market conditions.

Jordan Islamic bank (JIB) pre-tax profits before tax reached $57.40 million. The Board is proposing a 15 per cent cash dividend to shareholders.
The bank was able to strengthen its position in the Jordanian banking sector through the year. Clients' deposits with the managed accounts included grew by 18.5 per cent last year.

Nigeria plans to license at least two Islamic financial institutions by the end of the year and is getting assistance from Malaysia to expand its sharia-compliant industry, in a nation where 70 percent of people have no access to regular banking services.
Central Bank of Nigeria governor Lamido Sanusi said this month that as many as three non-Islamic banks had expressed interest in opening sharia-compliant “windows”.

Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) has agreed to buy full control of the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) as part of QIIB’s plans to develop an international banking business compliant with Shariah laws.
QIIB is offering one pence a share, representing a discount of 70 percent to IBB’s closing share price of 3.38 pence on March 15.

Malaysia's capital market crossed the RM2 trillion threshold for the first time ever as at end-2010.
In releasing the SC's Annual Report 2010, chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar noted that the capital market had achieved an annual compounded growth rate of 11% from RM717bil in 2000 due to rapid industry expansion and strong regulatory oversight that underpinned investor confidence in the Malaysian capital market.

STANDARD Chartered Saadiq (Saadiq) has not seen any adverse impact from the uprising in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) on its operations.
Mena forms a significant part of Saadiq business.

Though it looks likely to avoid a full-blown currency crisis for now, capital flight from Bahrain is starting to pressure its currency and threaten its position as a Gulf financial center.
The central bank's tight control over the foreign exchange market, and the possibility of other Gulf countries providing financial support to prevent market turmoil from spreading, mean Bahrain is unlikely for the foreseeable future to have to abandon the dinar's peg against the U.S. dollar.

Qatar International Islamic Bank agreed to buy out the part of Islamic Bank of Britain it doesn’t already own for about £4.8mn ($7.7mn) as it tries to create an international Shariah-compliant lender.

Engku Rabiah Adawiah Engku Ali says she became the first female Islamic finance scholar after failing to progress in her preferred field of juvenile law.
Malaysia’s Shariah Advisory Council has two female scholars on its 11-member board and Indonesia has six women on its panel of 35 experts.
There aren’t any female scholars in Islamic finance in the Middle East as women haven’t found opportunities in the male-dominated field, said Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, secretary general of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, in Manama, Bahrain.

For all the talk about the ability of sustainable development funds to hold their own, the chart on the bottom right, which tracks the Dow Jones sustainability index against its global index, will make for awkward viewing.
Clare Brook, Fund Manager of the IM WHEB Sustainability Fund is positive with regards to this big gap between global funds that include big miners and refiners of fossil fuels and those that focus on so called clean energy.

During the last three months, domestic Shariah indices, benchmarks for equity investments complying with the Islamic laws, have underperformed their global counterparts in beating broad market indices.
S&P 500 Shariah (US) and MSCI EM Islamic index has been able to generate higher returns than its broader market counterparts.
It seems that a shariah index tends to give higher returns during a bull phase in the equity market and underperform the broader market in a bear phase.