IslamicFinance.de

The government plans to sell up to Rp 5 trillion (USD 485 mn) of Sukuk, to institutional investors in the domestic market by the end of the second quarter.

Islamic banks first opened in Iraq in the 1990s and seven of the country's 42 banks are now Islamic. The central bank studies a new law for Islamic banks, but there is no time line.

Bilad has about 7,000 account holders, whose deposits rose to about 358 billion Iraqi dinars ($306 million) by the end of 2008 compared to 58 billion dinars a year earlier. Its capital had quadrupled to 100 billion dinars since its foundation, and it expects to hit 200 billion dinars in 2010.

Regulatory constrains the growth of Islamic banks.

The Islamic Development Bank and the Syrian government signed an agreement last week stating that the bank would provide a EUR 100 mn finance for the expansion of a power station in Syria.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) granted a USD 31 mn facility to Turkmenistan to finance the purchase of two "river-sea" vessels with the capacity of 7 tons each for transportation of oil and oil products.

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a Fannie Mae-style company in conjunction with the upcoming mortgage law to buy mortgages from financial institutions and help develop national sukuk and debt markets, Saudi Arabia's finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said according to Reuters.

Hashem Kalantari reported in Forbes that Iran plans to issue USD 12.3 bn of foreign currency and rial-denominated bonds over the next three years to help finance the development of its major South Pars gas field in the Gulf.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will extend some USD 100 mn with one-year terms to Turkish exporters that have experienced trouble as a result of the ongoing global financial crisis. Officials from Turkey's Eximbank informed the Anatolia news agency that the IDB will give money to Eximbank, a bank formed with the aim of lending support to Turkish exporters.

International Investment Bank (IIB), Bahrain, announced the completion of the first Thermo Mechanical Treatment steel rolling mill in Bahrain (UNIROL) earlier this month. IIB is one of the major partners of the project with an equity stake of 35%.

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) announced that it has provided a USD 25 mn banking facility for Bukhatir Investment Group to support expansion projects planned by the Group.

Press Release

PARIS (Standard & Poor's) June 1, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has lowered its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank (Arcapita) to 'BB-' from 'BB' and removed them from CreditWatch, where they were first placed on Jan. 28, 2009, with negative implications. At the same time, we affirmed our 'B' short-term rating on Arcapita. The outlook is negative.

The ratings reflect our opinion of Arcapita's stand-alone credit profile and do not include any uplift for extraordinary external support. However, Standard & Poor's recognizes that ongoing support from Arcapita's shareholders has been significant and is incorporated in Arcapita's stand-alone credit profile.

"The rating action reflects our opinion of Arcapita's high leverage in the context of a very difficult economic and investment climate, which has challenged Arcapita's business model, reduced the value of its assets, and put pressure on its financial performance," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Mohamed Damak.

7Days Dubai reports that one bank faces 2,500 customers leaving per month withou payng off their credit card bills.

SALAMA, the world's largest Takaful and Re-Takaful Group ties up with Crédit Agricole Asset Management Group (CAAM Group), to offer 3 Islamic funds: BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) quantitative fund, an active Asian equities ex-Japan and a Global Equity fund of Islamic funds.

Global MENA Financial Assets Limited (the 'Company') is a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey to make attractive absolute gains through investment in a diversified portfolio of financial sector assets focused predominantly in the MENA region (including Turkey). Today, the Company announces an update in relation to certain Islamic financing contracts entered into on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries and referred to in previous announcements.

Thomas Weisel Asset Management LLC partnered to form an alliance with IdealRatings, Inc. to create funds and separately managed accounts to invest in small and mid-cap U.S. companies.

Through an initial investment by Thomas Weisel Asset Management, IdealRatings, Inc. will manage the process of achieving individually tailored Shariah compliance for Thomas Weisel Asset Management clients, including supplying software, research tools and scholar support.

IdealRatings, Inc. and Thomas Weisel Asset Management will target Shariah focused investors, Islamic institutions and international family offices.

Investment Dar will brief creditors and investors in a meeting for June 8 in the United Arab Emirates on how its restructuring plan is progressing, the firm said in statemnt according to Reuters.

Qatari bank lending fell 7 % in the first two months of 2009 as credit to the public sector dropped 36 %, central bank data showed, the latest signal Gulf banks are more cautious on new loans.

A dispute arose between Investment Dar and Commercial Bank of Kuwait regarding the right to buy back from CBK 19.2 % stake in Boubyan, wich Investment Dar sold last year.

Albaraka Bank, SA's only Islamic financial institution, passed the R2bn asset level. This compares with only R400 000 in 1999 when it was formed. CEO Shabir Chohan said that it had taken the bank 15 years to achieve assets of R1bn and then another five years to reach the current level.

Chohan said that although Muslims represented only 2% of the population of SA, he believed there were opportunities for other players in the market that could offer greater convenience and more branches.

Istanbul Declaration Adopted By The First Meeting Of The Development And Cooperation Institutions Of The Member States Of The Organisation Of The Islamic Conference (May 13-14, 2009) Istanbul, Republic Of Turkey

Date: 16/05/2009 - View in: Arabic | French - Print

We, the Heads/Representatives of the Development and Cooperation Institutions (DCIs) of the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Heads of Delegations participating in the First Meeting of the Development and Cooperation Institutions of the OIC Member States held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey on 13-14 May 2009,

Inspired by the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action, adopted by the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in December 2005,

Commending the OIC General Secretariat, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) for their initiative of convening the First Meeting of the Development and Cooperation Institutions of the OIC Member States,

Indonesian shipping firm, PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk , in a prospectus published in Bisnis Indonesia newspaper, the firm said it plans to sell 400 billion rupiah of conventional bonds and 100 billion rupiah of ijarah sale-and-leaseback sukuk, which will be offered May 20-25.

It has appointed PT Danatama Makmur and PT Andalan Artha Advisindo Sekuritas as underwriters.