IslamicFinance.de

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has got the attention of foreign lawyers who are keen to learn more about Islamic financial instruments for business development and economic reconstruction.
Lawyers from premier firms from 18 cities in the region and from other major financial centers, who congregated here last week to attend the Asia Pacific Regional Meeting of Interlaw, acknowledged Malaysia's specialised expertise in Islamic finance.

The global market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, returned to growth last year, shaking off the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.
After two turbulent years, the market started making a strong comeback at the end of 2010. While Malaysia continues to dominate the sukuk market, accounting for 78 percent of total issuances in 2010.
The Gulf region is expected to play a larger and more sustainable role in the sukuk market in the future, according to research by S.&P., in the expectation of a gradual recovery in economic activities and the region’s need to finance the huge pipeline of government projects and infrastructure for events planned for the coming years, like the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Tokio Marine is pulling out of its Takaful joint venture with Malaysian Islamic bank Hong Leong.
The Japanese insurer has gained regulatory approval to sell all of the shares it holds in Malaysia Takaful company, Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful Bhd, to Hong Leong Group.

Ted Pretty, the chief executive of investment bank Gulf Finance House was asked to leave and will not return to the bank.
What Pretty was really brought on to do was swing the axe and lead a brutal cost-cutting and debt rescheduling program to try and fix the damage done to the bank by its over-ambitious real estate plans at the height of the Dubai property boom . Despite this the firm has struggled to build revenues.

The over-insured but tiny Malaysian Takaful market may be about to see yet another new entrant. It seems that Allianz Malaysia is about to enter the market by acquiring a stake in Takaful Ikhlas.
The Malaysian Takaful market is worth around $10bn and is attractive to new entrants more for its growth potential rather than its present value. The market is growing at between 15% and 20% a year.

The Maldives Islamic Bank opened its doors for the first time this week. MIB is the first Islamic bank in the Indian Ocean island nation. The new bank's CEO, Harith Harun told reporters that the initial paid-up capital of the bank would be MVR150m ($11.7m), the minimum capital requirement for banks under Maldivian Banking Law.

The Sakk has underpinned modern day Islamic finance and as a result there is a multitude of different Sukuk for a fund manager to invest in, from various domiciles in both the developed and developing markets.
There is also a vast range of maturities and profit rates to choose from as well as different issuers from sovereigns down to small businesses. Finding them is not difficult either as Sukuk are listed on numerous global exchanges.
The top performer over the period was the tiny $0.01m Indonesian based Reksa Dana PNM Amanah Syariah fund, managed by PNM Investment Management.

The Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Pakistan has appointed Azhar Aslam as head of Islamic banking.
Azhar Aslam joins the bank from Dubai Islamic Bank where he was Country Head, Corporate and Investment Banking.

Kazakhstan will revisit a plan this year to issue debut sovereign Islamic bonds worth U.S.$500 million.
It will create a benchmark for corporate lenders because its aim is to build an Islamic finance sector among its majority Muslim population.
Central Asia's largest economy also plans to attract up to US$10 billion in Islamic finance in the next five to seven years, officials said yesterday, as a alternative means of financing an ambitious industrial growth programme.

Many sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have exposure to Sharia-compliant.
The government pension fund of Norway reported in last year's third quarter that nine out of the top 10 investments were Sharia-compliant. The only exception is HSBC Bank.
In Islamic finance there are no large banks (billion-dollar paid-up capital), and funds are small, with an average size of about US$40 million (Dh146.9m).
There is no free-trade agreement among the 57 member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and intra-OIC trade was about 17 per cent of the group's overall trade as of 2009. However, there are 1.6 billion Muslims, a number thrown around carelessly, to entice and show the potential growth in trade.

In the oppinion of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and EFG-Hermes UAE Ltd, Abu Dhabi may find it cheaper to borrow with Islamic bonds than non-Sharia compliant securities.
Abu Dhabi government officials will meet fixed-income investors in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. Standard Chartered is arranging the meetings and the sit-downs with investors aren't related to an immediate transaction.

Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan plans to ask its shareholders to approve a Euro medium-term notes programme which could see it issue a $1bn Sukuk.
The bank also plans to issue the bond after it gains approval and after its share capital is fully paid.

After appointing boards of directors of electricity distribution companies, the federal government has decided to transfer their assets to the managements in order to give autonomy to state-run units.
A summary for sale of 10 per cent shares of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) through stock markets will also be presented in the next meeting of the board of directors of the exchange, in order to move towards self-reliance and avert being a burden on public funds.

Sharjah Islamic Bank announced that its General Assembly has approved the Board of Directors' proposal on distributing a cash dividend of 5.5% of the current capital, equal to Dh133.4 million, to shareholders in accordance with the Central Bank's recent decision regarding dividend distribution.
The announcement was made following the 35th SIB General Assembly, which was held at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday 14 March.

Saudi's Al-Jazira Bank plans to issue a local currency-denominated Islamic bond to boost its capital and expansion plans. Al-Jazira did not specify the size of the Sukuk or when it plans to launch the issue but said that the local units of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Company will be managing the bond sale.

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies convened a two-day closed door Roundtable on Islamic Finance in Oxfordshire, England, over the weekend.
A select group of key industry practitioners, senior academicians, Shariah scholars, standard setters and regulators from around the world discussed three topics under the theme "Islamic Finance and the Public Good".

Key highlights of the full year results are:
* Profit before tax of £5 million compared to a £18.9 million loss in 2009 achieved through a cautious recovery strategy and prudent financial investments.
* Total operating income of £40.4 million, an increase of 34% year-on-year, demonstrating strong growth in the Bank's core divisions of Markets and Corporate Banking with a robust performance from the investment in US Dollar Income Fund.
* Net fee income of £974,693, up 112% year-on-year.
* Total assets of £712 million, down 6% compared to 2009. This slight decline represents a closer alignment of liquidity resources with customer facing requirements and improved diversification of the Group's liquidity position and funding capabilities.

Axis Global Islamic REIT is in talks with potential cornerstone investors and will aim to raise around US$700m from a Malaysian IPO in the second quarter. The original plan was to include assets from Japan, Australia and Hong Kong., but this may change as a result of last week’s earthquake and tsunami. CIMB and Standard Chartered are joint global co-ordinators, with Credit Suisse and Maybank as joint bookrunners.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) acting CEO Ahmad Meshari declined to comment on a report in Haberturk newspaper on March 10 that the bank plans to buy 25 % of Asya Katilim.

Qatar Islamic Bank wants to enter the Turkish market and is looking into buying other Islamic units in Qatar, its acting CEO Ahmad Meshari said in Doha yesterday.