IslamicFinance.de

The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) says it is working out modalities to roll out Islamic banking in the country after the central bank launched Islamic finance guidelines in 2013 to ensure strict adherence and compliance with the rules and principles of Sharia. BoZ governor Denny Kalyalya said the central bank is still doing some work on the Islamic banking. He noted that Islamic finance is a new way of doing business and a lot more needs to be done.
The BoZ has embarked on a process of developing a regulatory framework to facilitate the introduction of Islamic finance. The framework was reviewed by the Islamic Financial Services Board, which is the standard setting body in matters of Islamic finance.

Exacerbated by the pursuit for higher profits, capital preservation and food security, the oil rich region has over the years witnessed increasing demand for agricultural investments. Saudi's Sidra Capital hit the news when they opened up the largest Islamic structured trade finance fund in the world. It specifically invests in agricultural commodities, energy and metals. SEDCO Capital also positioned agriculture in their portfolio by recently launching a Shariah compliant Agribusiness Fund for which they have already raised $35 million and are targeting to close at $150 million. They have also in the past invested in UK-based Insight investment's Global Farmland Fund and AGF Latin America Fund.

The government uses effective approach and adopts efficient and integrated structure to develop Malaysia as an international Islamic financial centre, said Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Chua Tee Yong. He said the approach was due to the strong cooperation among various ministries, agencies, private sector and other stakeholders via the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Committee (MIFC) committee chaired by Bank Negara Malaysia governor. Asyraf Wajdi wanted to know whether the Finance Ministry has plans to develop the Islamic financial system in Malaysia by establishing ‘local centres’ as in Qatar, Bahrain, UK and Singapore. Chua said the plan and strategic issues would be discussed by MIFC exco to facilitate the administration and smooth implementation of the MIFC initiative.

Islamic finance has reached only 38 million out of two billion million Muslims (Ernst & Young) in 40 years, and it’s more about the bankable and those with collateral. In taking a step back and looking at the landscape, there was a light-bulb moment few years ago that something was missing in action (MIA). The original vision of the founders of Islamic banking was about financial inclusion of the non-bankable. So, the question becomes, what has Islamic banking and finance done for the poor versus the bankable, and what has it done for young entrepreneurs? The vision of Zilzar is about being a benefit-driven corporation, and not a for-profit only or non-profit only.

Saudi Arabia's billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal repeatedly invoked the name Bill Gates this week when he pledged his entire $32-billion fortune to charity. He also cited Warren Buffett, who has pledged his wealth to the Gates foundation. The Saudi and the American philanthropists are already collaborating on an effort to eradicate polio, among other things, the prince noted. His foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, will focus on empowering women and youths, providing disaster relief, eradicating disease, and bridging cultures both inside and beyond the Arab world. The work will be conducted in communities regardless of religion, a decision the prince defended more than once during his news conference. He described the timeline for his philanthropy as "open-ended".

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also Chairman of Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment, has issued directives to privatise some government and semi-government-funded investment companies. A council meeting, chaired by the Emir, examined results of a study on investment firms partially funded by government and semi-government bodies. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, also Vice-Chairman of the council, attended the meeting along with Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, who is Executive Member of the council, and other members.

The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) is pleased to announce the launch of the Malaysia Islamic Finance Report 2015, which is the latest in the Islamic Finance Country Reports (IFCR) series. You can download your copy of the Malaysia Islamic Finance Report 2015 here: http://www.irti.org/English/News/Documents/406.pdf You may also find the introductory video in YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuJd-hTTnCE

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced Wednesday his plan to give away his entire fortune in the coming years. Educated in California, Alwaleed is thought to be the 20th-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg, with a fortune of $30.5 billion. He has pledged to give away even more than that, $32 billion, though no time frame was set. Alwaleed’s charity group, Alwaleed Philanthropies, has worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carter Center, founded by Jimmy Carter. Alwaleed cites among his causes: health promotion, electricity to remote villages, building orphanages and schools, disaster relief and empowering women. Some have suggested that his emphasis on charity and women’s rights is a tactic to endear his ventures to Westerners. However, few deny his generosity.

Alinma Tokio Marine Company submitted a request to the CMA to approve its capital increase by way of rights issue valued at SAR 250,000,000. The capital increase will be approved in the Company's extraordinary general assembly meeting, which will be determined by the Company’s board of directors at a later date and should be held within six months from the approval date. CMA's Board of Commissioners has issued its resolution approving Alinma Tokio Marine Company’s capital increase request, which is to be conducted in accordance with the tradable rights framework. The rights issue prospectus will be posted and made available to the public at a later time. Investors should carefully read the prospectus, which includes detailed information on the company, the offering and risk factors.

During the World Economic Forum (WEF) in South Africa in June, business and political leaders from multiple African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa among others, have emphasized the need for collaboration between regulators in order to promote financial inclusion globally. Nigeria’s minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala stressed the need for cooperation between banking and telecommunication regulators to contribute to further financial inclusion through the use of mobile banking. One of the stated goals of those advocating for financial inclusion is for individuals to keep their money within the formal financial system instead of holding it in cash.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi aims to slash a subsidy bill, mostly for food and energy, that ballooned to about 8 percent of economic output last fiscal year. Instead, money will be directed to those who need it most – eventually, about 18 million Egyptians, the poorest 20 percent of the population. After years of political turmoil the government is eager to make sure they’re spared the impact of spending cuts. Yet it’s also under pressure from investors to trim one of the region’s biggest budget deficits. Targeted handouts are a way of achieving both goals. The program called Takaful or Solidarity gives cash to families on condition that their children attend school and undergo regular medical checkups. Another plan, Karama or Dignity, covers the elderly and the disabled.

Qatar International Islamic Bank and QNB Capital signed an agreement in April with China-based Southwest Securities to develop Shariah-compliant finance products in the country. Seven months after Hong Kong sold its debut sukuk, China is exploring Islamic finance for projects from hospitals to metro stations, according to London-based Dome Advisory, which is working with a government-owned fund in Shanghai to finance five projects. Ningxia, an autonomous region in northwest China where a third of the 6.5 million population are Muslim, plans a $1.5 billion sukuk sale. However, country will need to make more regulatory changes to promote Islamic finance.

The Republic of Kazakhstan’s modifications and additions into some acts of the insurance and Islamic financing law came into force on May 9, 2015. The purpose of the law is to introduce a system of obligatory insurance for employees and to create favorable conditions for the appropriate functioning of Islamic banks. The main directions of the law are: legal support of Islamic insurance issues; improvement of legislation on issues regarding the functioning of Islamic banks; ensuring stable functioning of the organisation, which guarantees insurance payments; and solving problems regarding employees obligatory insurance when accidents occur.

Banks in Oman believe that ease of access to financing and a wider range of options have enhanced the experience of customers but also hold the opinion that excessive consumerism should be avoided through educating the society. Yousuf Al Rawahi, deputy general manager - head of branches, retail and private banking at Ahlibank, says that with the ease of available credit, any society will have consumerism, which has to be managed accordingly. However, he says more efforts are required to promote the culture of saving in Oman. Asad Batla, head of consumer banking at Bank Nizwa, believes that the rate of consumption in Oman has witnessed ‘exponential’ growth. He added that Bank Nizwa encourages its customers to have discipline in their financial decisions, while constantly focusing on helping them lead financially-secure lifestyles.

Guidance Financial Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia-based Capital Guidance, wants to link the vast Islamic investment opportunities between the Middle East and Asia, Dr Hasnita Hashim, chief executive officer of Guidance Investments, said. If appropriately linked these two regions can deliver strong value for investors while making innovative investment opportunities and ethical funding bases on Sharia principles available across both the regions, she said. In the GCC and wider Middle East region, the company has plans to replicate the success of its US residential mortgage business targeted at primary mortgage customers and institutional investors seeking secondary market asset pools. The company is already involved in providing primary mortgages through Dar Al Tamleek in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani came for the visit with the head of Russian Central bank Elvira Nabiullina, being accompanied by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. The trip has been organized within the framework of the visit of the Islamic Development bank (IDB) head to the VII International Economic summit of Russia and OIC countries – KazanSummit 2015. During the meeting, Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani told about the history of the IDB and the principles of its operation. He noted that today Islamic banking is represented even in countries, where there is no Islam, for instance, in China.

The rector of the Russian Islamic Institute (RII) Raffick Mukhametshin awarded the degree of honorary professor, a gown and a diploma to Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani, the President of the Islamic Development Bank. The ceremony was held in the framework of the Strategic Forum of the VII International economic summit of Russia and the OIC - KazanSummit 2015. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani arrived to Kazan to participate in the VII International Economic Summit Of Russia and OIC countries and became a guest of Honor of the annual KazanSummit. Head of the Islamic Bank delivered a speech at the Strategic Forum of the summit.

While rating agency has mixed views on the performance of the sukuk market this year, Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd says it remains mindful of the challenging economic backdrop. Its chief executive officer Muzaffar Hashim said the Islamic bond issuance activity, which saw its peak in 2012, is closely tracking the volatile external developments such as Greece debt default risk and US interest rates hike. RAM Rating said new global sukuk issuance is expected to be strong this year at around US$100 billion (RM371 billion) to US$120 billion (RM445 billion) while Standard & Poor’s warns of a slowdown in emerging markets as reduced confidence and low oil prices hit investor demand.

SWIFT, in collaboration with The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) has announced the launch of a new rulebook for the purpose of promoting message standards in the Islamic banking and finance market. The Islamic finance rulebook has been developed in response to the growing significance of the Islamic banking and finance market. It aims to provide greater clarity around the usage of Shariah-compliant MT messages in order to expedite market harmonisation and increase Straight-through Processing (STP) to improve efficiency and reduce risks and cost. The SWIFT Islamic Finance rulebook was endorsed by Shariah Advisory Committee of AIBIM and adopted by AIBIM council. It will be available to the Message User Group (MUG) in July 2015.

Developing countries are losing around $100 billion a year in revenues because foreign investors are channelling profits through offshore zones to avoid tax, a study by U.N. think-tank UNCTAD said on Wednesday. The economic and trade body published the $100 billion figure in its annual World Investment Report, which analyses how much foreign direct investment (FDI) is flowing across borders in search of corporate takeovers and start-up ventures. It calculated the amount by applying an average tax rate of just over 20 percent to around $450 billion of corporate profits shifted out of developing economies every year.