IslamicFinance.de

The oppinion of Prime Minister Najib Razak is that the government may sell ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds to help finance construction of a mass railway system in Kuala Lumpur. The project will be the country’s single biggest infrastructure development.

Pakistan's biggest Sharia- compliant debt funds are posting the best returns for sukuk investors this quarter as an export revival boosts bonds sold by the government and agricultural companies.
The JS Islamic Pension Savings Fund-Debt and the NAFA Islamic Aggressive Income Fund recorded gains of 3.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent.

Morocco's central bank is in talks with the country's banking industry group GPBM on regulations that would allow sukuk.
The central bank started only in late 2007 to allow some banks to provide Islamic finance products, but does not issue licences for fully fledged Islamic institutions.

Al-Jazira Bank completed a $267 million 10-year Islamic bond sale which was four times oversubscribed.
The issuance subscriptions were four times more than the amount approved by the Saudi monetary agency.

Kenya has ambitions of becoming the Islamic finance hub of East Africa and has the first mover advantage. But contrary to recent reports that Kenya may pass legislation to eliminate tax barriers to sukuk issuance by the end of the year, Islamic bankers in East Africa's largest economy stress that it is highly unlikely that any major developments will occur in terms of tax neutrality and other legislation that is required to facilitate products such as sukuk in the local market.

The threshold limit required by Nakheel, the Dubai-based master Developer, to implement its restructuring proposal has almost been reached.
Under Nakheel's restructuring proposal, trade creditors will receive repayment through 40 per cent cash and 60 per cent in the form of a sukuk (Islamic bond).
Nakheel said the debt restructuring process is expected to be completed by the first half of 2011 and it will soon be issuing restructuring agreements, including a term sheet for an Islamic bond offering, to trade creditors who have signed on to its restructuring plan.

With a supportive regulatory and tax framework and proximity to large Muslim populations in its neighbourhood, it is only a matter of time before Singapore becomes a major player in Islamic finance.
Analysts say Sukuk, or Islamic bonds and Syariah-compliant real estate investment trusts, are two products that have strong growth potential in Singapore.
One reason behind Singapore's success in Islamic finance is the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) efforts to create a supportive framework for a competitive Islamic finance landscape.

Nakheel expects its $10.9 billion debt restructuring process to be completed by the first half of 2011.
It said it will soon issue restructuring agreements, including a term sheet for an Islamic bond offering, to trade creditors that have signed on to its restructuring plan.
Under Nakheel's restructuring proposal, trade creditors will receive repayment through 40 per cent cash and 60 per cent in the form of an Islamic bond, or sukuk.

The Quarterly Bulletin of Malaysian Islamic Capital Market by the Securities Commission Malaysia is online; it features thoughts of Professor Volker Nienhaus on Regulations and Shariah in the aftermath of the crisis and contains further market updates.

PT Bank Muamalat planned to issue 1 trillion rupiah ($114.6 million) of sukuk in 2012 and that was considering raising up to 1 trillion rupiah in capital through a rights issue or sale of subordinated debt.

Yemen's IMF-backed Sukuk program is on the brink of veering off the rails due to the ongoing anti-government protests that have spread from the capital Sana'a across the southern Gulf nation.
The Central bank of Yemen is maintaining radio silence, and not entertaining questions about the Sukuk program from the media.
Despite the situation on the streets escalating into deadly violence, the government is trying to act as though it is business as usual.

MARC considers Maybank Islamic to be one of the core subsidiaries of Maybank and an integral part of the Group.
Maybank Islamic’s ratings therefore, reflect a very high probability of support from its parent.
Maybank’s ownership in Maybank Islamic, the operational integration and shared branding, in addition to the strategic role of Maybank Islamic in the Group’s Islamic banking operations are key factors underpinning MARC’s opinion that Maybank Islamic will benefit from the full support and credit strength of the Maybank Group.

The political conflict in the Middle East will make it more expensive for companies in the Arab Gulf such as First Gulf Bank PJSC and Masraf al-Rayan to issue Islamic bonds as relative yields hold near the highest level in more than three months.
First Gulf plans to sell bonds or sukuk this year. Masraf said March 15 it will seek shareholder approval to issue as much as $1 billion of Shariah-compliant debt.

CIMB Asset Management has launched a monthly newsletter about the Sukuk market:

"Industry practitioners are positive that 2011 will favour the sukuk industry and various indicators show that a delayed resuscitation of the Islamic bond market is on track this year. As economies recover and high crude oil prices help to revive the market, sales of international sukuk are forecasted to grow over USD22 billion this year, which represents a 29 per cent increase from the previous year. The upswing in corporate spending, an increase in issuers seeking funding diversification and improving investor sentiment in the Gulf are also expected to fuel the sukuk market globally.

According to the HSBC/NASDAQ Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index, the difference between average yields for emerging-market sukuk and the London interbank offered rate narrowed to 282.7 basis points on
6 January 2011 - the least since August 2008. Industry practitioners agree that the low sukuk yield spreads should entice sukuk issuers to tap the market.

The global market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, returned to growth last year, shaking off the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.
After two turbulent years, the market started making a strong comeback at the end of 2010. While Malaysia continues to dominate the sukuk market, accounting for 78 percent of total issuances in 2010.
The Gulf region is expected to play a larger and more sustainable role in the sukuk market in the future, according to research by S.&P., in the expectation of a gradual recovery in economic activities and the region’s need to finance the huge pipeline of government projects and infrastructure for events planned for the coming years, like the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Sakk has underpinned modern day Islamic finance and as a result there is a multitude of different Sukuk for a fund manager to invest in, from various domiciles in both the developed and developing markets.
There is also a vast range of maturities and profit rates to choose from as well as different issuers from sovereigns down to small businesses. Finding them is not difficult either as Sukuk are listed on numerous global exchanges.
The top performer over the period was the tiny $0.01m Indonesian based Reksa Dana PNM Amanah Syariah fund, managed by PNM Investment Management.

Kazakhstan will revisit a plan this year to issue debut sovereign Islamic bonds worth U.S.$500 million.
It will create a benchmark for corporate lenders because its aim is to build an Islamic finance sector among its majority Muslim population.
Central Asia's largest economy also plans to attract up to US$10 billion in Islamic finance in the next five to seven years, officials said yesterday, as a alternative means of financing an ambitious industrial growth programme.

In the oppinion of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and EFG-Hermes UAE Ltd, Abu Dhabi may find it cheaper to borrow with Islamic bonds than non-Sharia compliant securities.
Abu Dhabi government officials will meet fixed-income investors in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. Standard Chartered is arranging the meetings and the sit-downs with investors aren't related to an immediate transaction.

Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan plans to ask its shareholders to approve a Euro medium-term notes programme which could see it issue a $1bn Sukuk.
The bank also plans to issue the bond after it gains approval and after its share capital is fully paid.

The Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran has put on agenda to add new Islamic instruments such as Derivative Securities, Istisna and Murabaha in Capital Market as of the next Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2010).
Ali Saeedi, a senior official in Bourse Organization said the necessary grounds have been paved for the entrance of sukuk or Islamic bonds in Bourse Organization, adding BRokerage firms are considered as the main infrastructures for entrance of new monetary means to bourse. He gave news that Murabaha bonds would be issued next year.