IslamicFinance.de

Indian private equity firms are more and more interested about entering Shariah-based funds market. According to Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investemt Solutions, there are at least six financial institutions with plans to issue Shariah-compliant funds in India.

Indonesia is on the course to become the major player in takaful industry. Growth rate as well as premiums for takaful operations has been increasingly growing in the last years and as result thereof, Indonesia could overtake several GCC countries. During the 2007-2010 period, the growth of Indonesian takaful industry was being supported from both domestic and international insurance companies. The Industry outlook for the period 2012-2016 remains in all aspects positive.

The Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility has awarded Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) for the best Arab Bank supporting social responsibility. The aim of the award is to encourage the role of public and private sectors, government and private institutions, in the area of social responsibility.

Malaysian central bank's governor confirmed that the new legislation for Islamic banking and takaful products is in the final stages. The new legislation should give a stronger legal basis to financial institutions. However, there was no time frame set for launch of the legal framework.

The deadline for final takeover offer of Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) from Masraf Al Rayan has been prolonged to January 7. Islamic Bank of Britain that is owned by Qatar International Islamic Bank struggles to turn into profit since 2004. Management of the bank hopes that selling of the major stake to Masraf will help bank in renationalisation if its operations.

Islamic Banks expect rapid growth in 2013. According to a central bankier, Indonesian banks will register higher profits in upcoming year despite more stringent rules imposed by the Indonesian central bank. The total amount of Islamic assets including Islamic-compliant rural banks grew up by 37 percent comparing to last year, a deputy governor of Bank Indonesia said. He expects that the amount of Islamic assets will continue growing in the next year.

National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL) is going to launch a new Sharia-compliant Unit Trust called "NAMAL Sharia Fund". It will offer clients an opportunity to invest in a large diversified portfolio of Sharia-compliant equities listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Dar Al Sharia Legal and Financial Consultancy LLC (DAS) will assist the fund with consulting services.

One of the leading foreign banks in Malaysia is looking for talented individuals to take on newly-created roles within its Islamic Finance division; Head of Islamic Finance and Islamic Client Coverage professionals.
For the Head position - your key purpose in this new role will be to develop the Bank’s Islamic Finance business. The Bank is also looking for experienced Islamic corporate bankers to undertake origination and client coverage functions of the unit.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) made an announcement about the sale of 16 real estate assets worth KD84m ($298m). Thus, KFH reorganises its property portfolio. No specific locations of the properties released from its portfolio across North America, south East Asia, and Europe were made public. According to Anwar Al-Ghaith, CEO of KFH, the sale aims to ensure better returns for investors and depositors.

The time necessary to issue an Islamic bond is a crucial issue for the sukuk Islamic bank market. According to Rushdi Siddiqui, Thomson Reuters global head of Islamic finance, the Malaysian sukuk market is developed in such a way that quick issuance is possible. The region needs to follow this example. Siddiqui compared the sukuk market with the state of the eurobank market in the 1960s and 1970s. Consequently, the sukuk market has to move in a forward direction and raise efficiency.

Coordinate and carry out sukuk investment research on assigned countries and industries. Maintain expert knowledge of relative value within and across those sectors. This includes maintaining credit rating, outlook and relative value assessments of all current holdings within assigned coverage.

Reporting to the CEO at it’s headquarters in Bahrain, the person will be responsible initially for managing a small team with a strong focus to develop it’s business in the Asiapac.

Able to identify new markets and establish relationships with FI’s

Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance in partnership with Infinity Consultants recently released a live talk titled "Achieving Financial Inclusion for Muslims in India - How Can Islamic Finance Help?" It is held by Saif Ahmed, Managing Partner at Infinity Consultants. The webinar introduces a completely new dimension to the topic of financial inclusion in India for Muslims. Saif Ahmed pointed out that the Muslim's requirements for Islamic financial products and services have been absent from discussions and policy initiatives even though the government strongly pushes towards financial inclusion.

For the second time, the Turkish Bank Asya will try to issue a debut dollar-denominated sukuk worth up to $300m. The issuance is planned for the first quarter of 2013. The sukuk is expected to bring up to TL150m ($57m) of lira denominated paper.

Jordan Islamic Bank's Shari'a Quality Rating (SQR) was reaffirmed as AA by the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA). This is an indication that the bank conforms with very high standards of Shari'a compliance in regard of all aspects of Shari'a quality analysis. JIB, owned in majority by the Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), is set to maintain and enhance the level of compliance with the spirit of Shari'a principles in Islamic finance.

It is expected that Islamic banks will expand further since they are currently competing more and more with conventional lenders in attracting mainstream customers. The Islamic assets of all commercial banks' in total are estimated to reach $1.55 trillion this year, $1.8 trillion in 2013 and over $2 trillion mark. Nearly 30% of the total - $450 billion in assets - are owned by Islamic banks in the Gulf region.

In Malaysia, Islamic finance has been developing at a rapid pace during the recent years and has become a serious rival to conventional banking in largely Muslim countries like this. The pioneer lender in the country - HSBC - embodies the development and success of Islamic banking in Malaysia. However, in other countries the bank did not gain such a profit. Not long ago it even announced the closing of its Islamic finance operations in six markets, remaining present only in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and a scaled-down operation in Indonesia. The reason therefore is said to be the differences in interpretation of the Islamic law in different countries.

A recent report by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and KPMG states makes a call for co-operation between standard setters and Islamic banks. Thus, harmonization of financial reporting shall be enabled. ACCA supports the opinion that due to the rapid global growth in Islamic finance reports must be harmonized and consistent. Guidance and standards should be developed and the investor community should be educated on the most significant matters.

Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz - governor of Bank Negara Malaysia - recently announced that the legislative process for the new legal framework for Islamic banking and takaful to be enacted is progressing. Not only will the new framework streamline the legal requirements across sectors but it is also expected to make sure that the law was reflective of the nature and features of Shariah contracts. Moreover, this way the degree of regulation would commensurate with level of risks that Islamic financial institutions, markets and products pose to the overall financial sytem.

To prepare management account and monthly management reports.
To assist in the budgeting process and the review of HLISB financial performance and the preparation of financial highlights.
Prepare the Profit and Loss account by business unit to monitor profitability of the respective unit on monthly basis.
To assist Unit Head in special project, especially for matters relating to accounting.