IslamicFinance.de

The German regulator BAFIN is organising an Islamic finance conference on 29 October 2009. The announcement is in German, but the conference is held in English. The conference shall show different aspects of Islamic finance, and to determine the salient features. Further it shall discuss the developments in the insurance sector and capital markets. The aim of the conference is to sharpen the conscience about Islamic finance und its increasing role, the foundations of sharia compliant business, and the challenges involved herewith from the regulatory perspective.

Contact details:
Ricarda.Maier@bafin.de
jochenrobert.elsen@bafin.de

VTB Capital said that it has mandates to manage the sale of at least three Sukuk for Russian companies, each of which could raise USD 200 million to USD 500 mn. The sale shall start soon according to Yury Solovyov, VTB Capital's president and chief executive, said in an interview in Dubai.

Olivant Investments has written down the entire value of its 30 % stake in Amiri Capital, a company offering a Sharia compliant Hedge fund platform.

The Global Association of Risk Professionals and the Banque du Liban recently announced the development of a new program, the Certificate in Risk Management for Islamic Financial Institutions.

The explosive growth in, and increasing sophistication of Islamic financial products has created the need for standards and guidelines for sound risk management approaches analyzing these financial instruments.

The Certificate is expected to be available in 3Q 2009

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.

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,

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has set up a five-person working group chaired by its director for strategic development, Dr Michael Xuereb, to identify further necessary legal and regulatory changes and related implementation procedures with respect to Sharia Institutions and Sharia Funds.

QInvest, trumped two other bidders to buy a 44 % stake in Panmure Gordon & Co, investing USD 36.3 mn in the 130-year-old British stockbroking firm. The deal would involve a placing of 67.5 million shares, priced at 34 pence per share a 15 % discount on Wednesday's closing price.

Panmure said the cash injection would enhance its balance sheet and give it the financial strength to grow into new business areas and locations, including the Gulf.

MICROCAPITAL STORY: African Development Bank Group, Agence Française de Développement Group, European Investment Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, KfW Bankengruppe, Islamic Development Bank Group, and World Bank Group Launch USD 15bn Joint Action Plan for Africa Including Support for Microfinance Programs.

The Islamic Development Bank Group, through the Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector, will contribute up to USD 250 million over the next five years, including USD 50 million for the development of Islamic banking industry and USD 50 million for SME development.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Paris EUROPLACE signed a Memorandum of Understanding defining the range of cooperation.

Mrs Christine LAGARDE, Minister of economy, industry and employment sees the MoU to improve the relations between the countries, and to increase the attractivity of the financial market place of Paris on the long term including the Islamic finance players.

The UK government could turn to Islamic investors to finance part of its debt if market conditions improve, Business Minister Ian Pearson told Reuters in an interview wrote Cecilia Valente.

The UK government was expected to announce an Islamic-compliant short-term debt programme of up to 2 billion pounds ($3.03 billion), but in November the pre-budget report shelved the plans, citing deteriorating markets.

The contemporary definition on organized tawarruq is: when a person (mustawriq) buys a merchandise from a local or international market on deferred price basis. The financier arranges the sale agreement either himself or through his agent. Simultaneously, the mustawriq and the financier executes the transactions, usually at a lower spot price.

It is not permissible to execute both tawarruq (organised and reversed) because simultaneous transactions occurs between the financier and the mustawriq, whether it is done explicitly or implicitly or based on common practice, in exchange for a financial obligation.

Full text: English and Arabic at the link below.

Islamic finance is coming to Spain, where it estimates it will find a potential market of two million clients reported Paola Del Vecchio on Ansamed.

According to financial newspaper Negocios, the Halal Institute - the centre of Islamic quality certification in Cordoba operating under the Spanish Islamic Commission - is shortly to sign an agreement with the Sa Nostra building society in the Balearic Islands for the creation of an Islamic current account.

According to market research carried out by the Halal Institute, potential clients in Spain have good earnings, a high level of loyalty to their bank and a low rate of payment default. Thanks to the agreement soon to be sealed by the Halal Insitute and Sa Nostra, Muslim residents of the Spanish archipelago will also be able to open special current accounts to collect the funds needed to be buried in the first Islamic cemetery in the Balearics, without the bank taking any commission or adding any interest to the holder's deposits.

Increasing number of defaults will lead to test the legal framework and stability of the Islamic finance structures in centres such as Dubai, Bahrain and Malaysia. Judges will have to weigh conventional law and sharia (Islamic law) used in contracts, and legal uncertainty over key contract provisions could hurt the industry's ability to bounce back when the global economy recovers. The industry will be watching to ensure any legal disputes are settled in a transparent manner which gives certainty to the contract terms entered into, said Davide Barzilai, a London-based Islamic finance lawyer with Norton Rose.

"SAVE THE DATE"
16th June 2009, 09:30 – 12:30
Islamic Cultural Centre - London Central Mosque, Regents
Park, London

Faith in Capitalism
A ground-breaking conference for financial representatives
of faith institutions and thoughtful investment management
professionals

Increasing awareness of the social impact of investment is
driving many thoughtful investors, especially private
clients, family offices, endowment funds and those having
strong faith values, towards a new philosophy of “Making
money and stewarding it responsibly”.

The morning’s presentations will include a Keynote Address
on “Faith in Capitalism” and panel discussions debating
“What does faith tell us about responsible investing?” and
“How can investors do good while making money?”

Do not miss this exceptional opportunity to gain a fresh,
inspirational perspective from renowned experts on
faith-based and sustainable investing. The conference will
be open to questions and comments from the audience, and
promises to be a uniquely informative event with
unprecedented opportunities for networking. There is no
charge to attend, thanks to the following sponsors:

The new yearbook includes Standard & Poor’s latest analysis and rating methodologies on almost 40 rated Islamic debt issues and issuers, and an overview of its suite of global benchmark and investable Sharia indices.

While total global sukuk issuance more than halved to $14.9 billion in 2008 from $34 billion in the previous year, Standard & Poor’s believes the outlook for Islamic finance remains strong. Sharia-compliant assets now total about $700 billion after growth exceeding 10% annually during the past decade.

Full 70+ pages report for free download at:

http://www.gcc.standardandpoors.com/islamic_finance/Islamic%20Finance%20Outlook%202009%20(12).pdf

The presentation is in German only.

Am 10. April wurde in der Volkshochschule Bielefeld in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bündnis Islamischer Gemeinden ein Vortrag zur Wirtschaftskrise aus islamischer Sicht gehalten.

Die Präsentation wird hier als PDF Dokument zum Herunterladen angeboten. Die lebhafte Diskussion zu den einzelnen Punkten islamischer Finanzwirtschaft, Wirtschaftstheorie und Empfehlungen zur Wirtschaftskrise enthält sie leider nicht.

Gilles Saint-Marc, a Paris based lawyer is cited that the first Islamic bank in France may start already in June 2009.

Quantis was founded recently to provide expertise in responsible Islamic finance combined with quantitative methods by Marwan Muhammad and others.

http://www.quantislam.com