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Almaty-based Al Hilal Islamic Bank may expand into neighbouring markets as legislation in the Central Asian countries changes. Islamic finance is gaining popularity in the region, but Al Hilal is currently the only sharia-compliant lender in Kazakhstan. The Abu Dhabi government wholly owns Al Hilal's parent company and according to its chief executive, Prasad Abraham, the bank is considering increasing its geographical presence as part of its 2015 business plan.

Orix Leasing Pakistan Limited (OLPL) plans to tap the high growth Islamic finance market. The company has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL) with regard to a prospective merger/amalgamation of Standard Chartered Leasing Limited (SCLL), a subsidiary of SCBPL with and into OLPL or acquisition of SCBPL’s 86.45 per cent equity stake in SCLL. The MoU further provides the acquisition of SCBPL’s 100pc stake in Standard Chartered Services of Pakistan (Private) Limited and acquisition of SCBPL’s 20pc stake in Standard Chartered Modaraba. There is no certainty that the MoU would result in a binding transaction.

Emirates Islamic recently held interactive sessions at five schools in Dubai aimed at teaching children the importance of savings. The initiative, in partnership with Dubai Educational Zone (DEZ), is part of Emirates Islamic’s strategy to instil a savings culture in the community, and in particular create awareness amongst youth on the importance of savings. The bank plans to visit several other schools across the seven emirates to spread awareness in the coming months. Last year, Emirates Islamic created a special ‘Child Savings Account,’ to promote a savings habit for youngsters. The account is free for children and includes a hassala, the traditional Emirati savings pot, and a complimentary pre-paid card with Dhs100 credit.

For the second year in a row, Bahrain has been named the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries leading Islamic finance market and second out of 92 countries worldwide, according to the ICD-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI). Bahrain was also ranked as having the best governance in Islamic finance in the world, with the report praising the well-established regulatory framework covering all sectors, and high levels of disclosure. The IFDI is a measure of five components (including quantitative development, governance, corporate social responsibility, knowledge and awareness).

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) a annoncé la nomination de Dr. Mohamed Damak comme responsable mondial de la finance islamique. Il dirigera le secteur de Finance Islamique de S&P mis en place depuis 2007 pour renforcer l’offre de finance islamique. Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, il sera responsable de la croissance du secteur et de la notation en finance islamique chez S&P et de la recherche sur le secteur dans le monde entier. Ses nouvelles fonctions s’ajouteront à ses responsabilités actuelles au sein de l’équipe des services financiers pour la région CEEMEA chez S&P. L’agence de notation a récemment été nommée "meilleure agence de notation islamique" en 2014 par l’Islamic Finance News Awards Service Providers Poll.

SWIFT, in collaboration with The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and the Malaysian Islamic financial community, say they will launch a new rulebook for the usage of SWIFT MT messages for Islamic finance. The SWIFT Islamic Finance Rulebook will be available to the Message User Group (MUG) by the end of 2014. The rulebook will provide greater clarity around SWIFT MT message usage based on Islamic principles in order to enable straight-through processing (STP), thereby improving efficiency as well as reducing risk and cost. It will provide a platform for exchanging Islamic finance messages and further promote the usage of message standards.

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association is calling for the government to sell sukuk to lure investment from the Middle East. In addition, the Cyprus Stock Exchange wants to encourage the listing of Shariah-compliant bonds and sees potential for the nation of 1.2 million to become a “gateway to the European Union” for Islamic investors, Chief Executive Officer Nondas Metaxas said. The island, where Muslims make up 18 percent of the population and Turkey has kept troops since the 1974 conflict, is being asked by the European Union to tackle a bad-loan ratio of 45 percent after a joint bailout with the International Monetary Fund in March 2013. However, the government isn’t currently looking into developing an Islamic finance industry, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades.

The Islamic banking industry needs to take more meaningful steps to benefit the poor, says Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Economics and Muamalat Faculty Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amir Shaharuddin. Amir said although microfinance is still new in this country, in Indonesia, Sudan, Bangladesh and Pakistan it has given the poor a chance to take part in the Islamic banking system. He said many wakaf funds and parcels of wakaf land in Malaysia are not effectively managed, and the full potential of wakaf assets has yet to be realised. The situation could improve with with more professional management, he said, citing the substantially higher zakat collection now with better management.

Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and even London aspire to be hubs for Islamic finance, but Bahrain still has a strong and respected role in this sector. The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation has put in place sound standards for a global liquidity management platform. There have been significant developments, like the successful restructuring of a number of Islamic wholesale and retail banks, including Venture Capital Bank, GFH, Bank Alkhair and Bahrain Islamic Bank, which were badly affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. In the coming years, more momentum in the area of real estate funds is expected to take place.

The scope and potential of Islamic finance, insurance, and banking in the Maldives is yet to be fully explored, suggests Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Azeema Adam. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first ‘Maldives Islamic Banking and Finance Industry Conference’, Dr Azeema said Islamic finance provides a springboard to generate innovative ideas to cater to the financing needs of the domestic economy. Islamic banking and capital market services were introduced in the Maldives in 2011, with the opening of the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB). However, providing banking services to all inhabited islands might not always be profitable Azeema continued, requiring innovation within the Maldivian financial sector.

Tanzania has big potential for Islamic Finance and could be the Islamic banking hub for east African countries, Muhammad Zubair Mughal, the Chief Executive Officer of AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics said during the concluding ceremony of "African Islamic Banking and Finance Road show". This road show was conducted in 6 African Countries for the Promotion of Islamic Finance on the African continent. He stated that Islamic finance is not only taking root in North African countries e.g. Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria etc, as potential exists in all African countries. Islamic Banking and Finance is growing rapidly in Nigeria, Libya, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco, while Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia have already taken good initiatives in the mentioned field.

Nearly 60 per cent of the world’s family-run businesses are struggling to find external finance to fund investment with 58 per cent of family businesses currently seeking external financing to fund their investment plans, according to KPMG. Despite family businesses creating more than 70 per cent of the global GDP, many say they find their fund-raising options limited and finding the right strategic investment partner can pose a challenge. KPMG has identified one possibly underutilised route for investment with the involvement of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), many of whom have family business experience as well as significant investment capital. According to the Survey, the top priorities of HNWIs and family owned businesses align, meaning that family businesses and HNWIs could prove to be highly compatible partners.

Tanzania has big potential for Islamic Finance and could be the Islamic Banking hub for east African countries, Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer of AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics said during the concluding ceremony of "African Islamic Banking and Finance Road show". This road show was conducted in 6 African countries to promote Islamic Finance on the African continent. He stated that Islamic finance is not only taking root in North African countries, as potential exists in all African countries. Islamic Banking and Finance is growing rapidly in Nigeria, Libya, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco, as well as Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia. The total volume of Islamic finance in Africa is an estimated 78 Billion USD, which is less than 5% share of the global Islamic finance industry.

Azerbaijani company Joint Leasing will conclude the first corporate Islamic leasing agreement next week. The company is considering the opportunity of attracting additional resources as part of the Islamic leasing project. At present, there is an opportunity to attract additional funds. In principle, leasing is a tool of Islamic finance. Ijara is among the tools used in Islamic finance.

South African state-owned companies Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and Transnet SOC Ltd. are weighing Islamic bond sales after the government sold its first sukuk at a record-low cost. Eskom, the national power utility, said yesterday it will use the sovereign sale as a “barometer” for its own financing plans, while rail and ports operator Transnet has said it may access the market amid growing demand for Shariah-compliant debt. Al Baraka Bank is awaiting regulatory approval for a 300 million-rand ($29 million) issue next year. South Africa sold $500 million of Shariah-compliant bonds two days ago at a 3.9 percent profit rate. Yields on the bonds rose 10 basis points to 4 percent by 5:30 p.m. in Johannesburg yesterday.

Two of Malaysia’s 16 Islamic lenders now have female CEOs and three of the 11-member central bank Shariah Advisory Board are women, becoming role models for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s push to raise the female labor participation rate to 55 percent by 2015, from 52.4 percent now. The push, which mirrors similar efforts in Japan and South Korea, aims to widen the pool of available talent and help Malaysia maintain its position as the world’s preeminent center for Islamic finance. Only one Shariah bank in the Middle East has a female CEO. Besides, being open to female talent has allowed Malaysia to access a wider pool of Shariah scholars, an area where there is a shortage of experts.

Do?an Cans?zlar, former head of the Capital Markets Board (SPK), has warned, in light of claims that a number of Turkish banks are in difficulty, that a smear campaign orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an against Bank Asya could lead to a worse financial crisis than the one Turkey suffered back in 2001. At the beginning of the week, Erdo?an publicly threatened independent regulatory body, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), over its lack of action against Bank Asya, saying the agency must take a decision on the bank and follow through on it. The banking industry may be in worse shape than many think. On Tuesday Twitter user @fuatavni revealed the names of eight banks that he maintains are in financial difficulties.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector ( ICD ) and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (Perbadanan TAIB), signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the launch of a Shariah- compliant leasing/Ijarah business in Brunei Darussalam. The Partnership plans a number of other COLLABORATIONS with the support of the Ijarah Management Company (IMC). Established in November 2011, IMC has successfully managed to set up and operate more than eight leasing companies globally including CIS, MENA and West Africa countries.

Indonesia's financial services authority, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) is preparing a five-year blueprint aimed at industry issues such as sector consolidation, a lack of scale and foreign ownership limits. OJK said it was now preparing draft regulations for Islamic pension funds, after Indonesia's national sharia council issued a ruling approving the overall concept in November last year. Under a "moderate" scenario, the OJK projects Islamic banking assets will grow by 14.4 percent in 2014, down from 24.2 percent in 2013 and 34 percent in 2012, although these figures would remain above those for conventional banks. The OJK said challenges faced by Islamic banks were mainly internal, rather than related to external pressures such as falling commodity prices or lower export demand.

About four-fifths of Middle-Eastern businesses are seeking external finance, while three in five have previously offered equity in their business to external investors, according to a new KPMG International survey. The survey found that in Qatar, banks are willing to lend to family businesses; however, the report identifies that High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are an untapped resource in the region. Survey results show that the top priorities of HNWIs and Family Owned Businesses align. However, it seems the biggest challenge to family businesses in the Middle East is the thorny issue of management interference. All Middle East respondents felt that HNWIs would get heavily involved in management decisions.