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Great Eastern Takaful aims to be profitable by end-December and be among the top three players in the local takaful business, according to Chief Executive Officer Zafri Ab Halim. The company has registered growth which was mainly attributed to improvements from its corporate agency and bancatakaful channel. Great Eastern Takaful will continue growing its agency distribution via direct and dual agency as a key distribution channel as well as develop and launch products catered primarily for the Muslims' market. The joint-venture company between Great Eastern Holdings Ltd unit, I Great Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd and Koperasi Angkatan Tentera (M) Bhd, yesterday changed its status from a private to a public entity in line with the requirement of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013.

Malaysia's BIMB Holdings will issue a RM1.7 billion ringgit Islamic bond to help raise the US$884 million (RM2.835 billion) it needs to buy the remaining 49% stake of Bank Islam. The 10-year sukuk will be sold to Tabung Haji, BIMB's biggest stakeholder, in a private placement. The bond is made available for the six months to May 27, 2014. IMB's plans were initially rejected by the central bank due to a proposal to secure the sukuk with shares of the company. BIMB in August announced plans to acquire the stake it does not own in Bank Islam held by Dubai Group and Tabung Haji.

More measures to encourgae the development of the Hong Kong’s Islamic financial market, particularly the sukuk and the Islamic fund management industry were discussed during the first meeting of the Joint Finance Forum which was held in the special administrative region. The forum participants agreed to identify potential sukuk issuers and encourage cross-border sukuk issuances between Hong Kong and Malaysia. Moreover, they also agreed to consider launching Islamic funds and make use of the established mutual recognition framework for Islamic funds between Hong Kong and Malaysia to facilitate cross-border Islamic financial activities.

Hong Kong's government has proposed a new law allowing it to issue Islamic sovereign bonds. This is a grand plan but maybe a little too ambitious. This is not the first time the government has promoted Islamic finance but not much has been achieved. The Hong Kong government now plans to issue sukuk. But whether a government issue will encourage other companies to follow with their own offerings remains a big question mark. The government has already launched the government bond and ibond programme but the local debt market is still not very active. Brokers speculate the Hong Kong government wants to promote Islamic bonds because Beijing wants to have a good relationship with Middle Eastern countries. If that is true, it may be up to some mainland companies to issue sukuk.

The Islamic Finance market has an estimated market of around Rs 300 billion and with the operation of currently five commercial licensed banks, three finance companies and other institutions, Sri Lanka’s total deposit base is nearly Rs 35 billion and the total loan base is Rs 24.8 billion. In Sri Lanka the Banking Act No 30 of 1988 was amended in March 2005 to accommodate the concepts of Islamic banking. Major banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank ABN Amro have dedicated Islamic Banking subsidiaries or Islamic Banking windows. Islamic finance is considered a key opportunity to bring in funds via different agencies, countries and foreign currencies. Introducing new Shariah-compliant instruments and products is important for expanding the Islamic finance industry in the country.

After Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) deployed logistics pipelines to transport emergency food products and other crucial relief items to the affected areas. Providing food is a major component of the emergency relief effort in the worst-hit areas. WFP has to date dispatched high energy biscuits and rice to three million people in Tacloban, Ormoc and Guiuan. In other areas, where power is on and markets open, WFP will support recovery with ‘Food for Assets’ programmes or cash transfers. Donations are welcome to fund the programmes. Find WFP's latest situation report attached; you can also learn more about WFP’s emergency response in the Philippines on the website wfp.org.

Malaysia Building Society Bhd. (MBSB) will sell the nation’s first covered Islamic bonds to be backed by receivables, offering RM495 million of the debt next month. The sale will be the first portion of a RM3 billion programme announced last month and will be issued by Jana Kapital Sdn, a special-purpose company. The securities have been assigned an AA1 ranking by RAM Rating Services Bhd in Kuala Lumpur. The offer is part of the company’s strategy to expand its business and to cut costs to sustain earnings growth. The company will report record profits this year as its nine-month net income of RM464 million has already surpassed 2012’s full-year total of RM446.7 million.

Standard Chartered Saadiq (Saadiq) and Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia (CGC) have collaborated to launch Malaysia’s first Islamic portfolio guarantee (PG) scheme to provide financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The term-financing facility, which offers financing from RM100,000 to RM800,000 over a flexible financing tenure of between 12 and 84 months, is expected to benefit about 400 SMEs within the next one year. Up to RM200mil will be offered under the Islamic PG agreement between Saadiq and CGC. Under the agreement, CGC would guarantee 70% of the approved total principal amount undertaken by SMEs and assist to verify the credibility of applicants in consultation with Saadiq. The scheme is expected to have a shorter turnaround time in terms of approval and disbursement to enable SMEs to gain quicker access to financing.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will release a list of Shariah-compliant stocks this month to draw Muslim investors to the stock market. PSE tapped a third-party consulting firm to assist the exchange in selecting companies that will be part of the list. The PSE is on the first year of a three-year plan to expand liquidity by offering more products and services. The PSE has been introducing new products including real estate investment trusts (REITs) and exchange traded funds (ETFs) to boost volumes. For next year, the PSE should attract the same number as this year’s initial public offerings (IPOs), mainly from the consumer-related and infrastructure sectors.

Noor Islamic Bank (Noor) announced a waiver on all remittance charges for clients wishing to send money to relatives in the Philippines, in the wake of the Super Typhoon Haiyan. In addition, the Islamic bank has said that any of its corporate clients wishing to donate funds to the Philippines relief effort will have the processing charges waived. The decision to waive remittance and processing charges will remain in place until December 31, 2013. Individuals and organisations must have a Noor bank account to take advantage of the zero charges.

Bangladesh's International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank (IFIC Bank) has decided to become a full-fledged Islamic bank. The proposal has already been approved by the bank's board, and the government, being the bank’s majority shareholder, has also given clearance. The conversion is now subject to approval from different regulators. Shah A Sarwar, managing director of the bank, could not give a definite time on how long the conversion process would take. The government holds 32.75 percent of the bank, directors and sponsors 11.31 percent, institutions 33.91 percent, foreign investors 0.28 percent and the rest 21.75 percent is held by the general public.

Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) recently announced concept paper on life insurance and family takaful (LI and FT) may be the insurance sector’s re-rating catalyst. The proposals made in the paper focus on ensuring sustainable operating costs, enhancing disclosure and improving policyholders’ value proposition, which should collectively boost penetration, especially in the mass market. Key measures in the recent proposals include the introduction of the minimum allocation rate to replace commission/operating cost limits on investment-linked products, promoting distribution channels and encouraging greater product transparency with enhanced disclosure requirements and web aggregators. The outcome is considered a win-win for customers and insurers.

Malaysia's Royal Award for Islamic Finance commences the third global search to honour an exceptional individual in the field of Islamic finance, with the opening of nominations. An independent seven member international jury will select the deserving individual. The selection criteria encompass both qualitative and quantitative aspects, including financial innovation and pioneering work, exceptional leadership, adoption and acknowledgement within the industry, and inspiration and influence towards future progress and development of Islamic finance. The closing date for nomination is 31 January 2014, and interested persons and parties can submit their nomination online via the website award.mifc.com or via email RAIFSecretariat@seccom.com.my.

Indonesia's finance ministry did not receive any winning bids for all offered sharia bonds at Tuesday's auction, the debt office at the finance ministry said. The country offered project-based sukuk with maturities of 7-years, 24-years and 30-years with an indicative target of 1 trillion rupiah. Total bids were 366.3 billion rupiah ($31.7 million).

London has long been the default centre for international firms to issue sharia-compliant bonds, but it faces a mounting challenge from Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. The final result of the three cities' rivalry may not be known for years, but thousands of jobs and large amounts of direct investment in companies and real estate are likely to depend on the outcome. The most high-profile - and most cut-throat - area of competition between the three centres is arranging sukuk. Other areas of competition include Islamic insurance, known as takaful, and asset management. London has led in attracting sukuk issues by big international companies because of the massive size of its conventional financial markets and its globally respected legal system. However, its position looks weakest among the three centres from a long-term perspective because it is not located within a natural pool of sukuk issuers and European customers will remain a limited group.

UDA Holdings will work with Bank Muamalat to develop 40.47ha of wakaf land with a gross development value of RM1 billion. The land, ready for development, is spread throughout the country and owned by the respective state Islamic Religious Councils. Bank Muamalat will provide the end financing for UDA to develop the land. The implementation of development projects on the wakaf land will be based on the concept of Ijarah or leasing. To realise the development of wakaf land, UDA acting as the developer, will underwrite the development costs, while also being responsible for marketing the projects.

Bangladesh has become a role model of financial inclusion for the Islamic financial world, said Mohammad Abdul Mannan, managing director (MD) of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL). He came up with the observation while addressing the first ever ADB conference on Islamic finance for Asia held at the ADB Headquarters in the Philippines on 4-5 November.

The Malaysian government has announced plans to transform the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur into a major financial centre in a bid to raise its profile and spark greater international trade and investment. The proposed new financial district, covering 70 acres and featuring 11 new buildings with 25 or more floors, is known as the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). In order to achieve the goal of becoming a financial superpower, TRX must turn to a more niche approach and build on the country’s established strength in the rapidly growing Islamic financial marketplace. Malaysia must leverage its status as an established Islamic finance hub. And it must address the challenges associated with the supply of high quality human capital.

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia has appointed Syed Maqbul Quader as Chairman effective Nov 6, 2013. Syed Maqbul, 64, has served as an independent non-executive director of the bank from Aug 1 this year. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dhaka University and has over 40 years' experience in the banking industry. He was involved in establishing the Corporate Banking Group at Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia and also the Offshore Banking Unit of Chase Manhattan Bank in Bahrain. According to Al Rajhi Bank Chief Executive Officer Datuk Azrulnizam Abdul Aziz, Syed Maqbul's international exposure in particular will be highly relevant for the bank in its aspiration to be the preferred Islamic financial services bank.

Maybank Islamic is confident of continuing its growth trajectory this year. Chief executive officer Muzaffar Hisham said the bank is looking at a pre-tax profit and zakat growth of between 10 and 15 per cent, after a 25 per cent growth to RM1.19 billion last year. The bank's growth will be led by an increase in cross-border transactions, which he said are on a steady rise. Indonesia and Singapore are the next key growth areas for Maybank Islamic. Muzaffar said he wants to grow the bank's cross-border investments via its treasury services window at Maybank Hong Kong. The bank has a strong retail banking presence in Singapore and has issued one sukuk in the island state. In Indonesia, its Islamic banking reach is through Maybank Group's subsidiary, Bank Internasional Indonesia. He added that the bank is also targeting to attract corporations from the United Kingdom wanting to expand in Asia.