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The draft of Dubai Financial Market's 'Standard for Issuing, Acquiring, Trading Sukuk' has been published on DFM's website. Numerous Islamic finance professionals have been invited to counsel and feedback on the comprehensive standard. The consultation period will last until February 28, 2013. At the beginning of March, a hearing session will be held, eventually followed by the issuance itself later the same month. The Standard includes thorough explanations of different types of sukuk. Among them are Sukuk of ownership of tangible assets, Sukuk of usufructs, Sukuk of lease of services, Mudaraba, Musharaka and Salam Sukuk.

Editorial Note:
You can download the paper at: http://www.dfm.ae/Documents/gen/SukukStandards.pdf

After a suspension that lasted almost eight months, trading in shares of Gulf Finance House (GFH) has finally resumed. GFH is traded on the Bahrain Stock Exchange, the Kuwait Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market.
GFH was hit very hard by the financial crisis. It made large profits in previous years by collecting premiums on investments in multibillion-dollar property projects and private-equity deals, but that income disappeared when investors retreated in 2008 and 2009.

UAE's Emirates Islamic Bank has admitted a net loss of $5.4m for the first quarter of 2011.
Dubai Financial Market posted that the bank's total income dropped 7.6% every year.

NASDAQ Dubai welcomes the announcement made today by Dubai Financial Market (DFM), by which DFM has made an offer to acquire NASDAQ Dubai, subject to regulatory approvals. Under the new ownership structure, DFM and NASDAQ Dubai will develop closer operational links.

The Dubai Financial Market has finalised comprehensive standards to be established for the issuance of Sukuk and awaiting approval of authorities.

Business Intelligence reported on 18 March that the Sharia Board of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has issued the first standards for trading shares. The establishment of such standards is in line with DFM becoming an Islamic exchange as decided on the Annual General Meeting in 2007. Since then the Sharia Board with its Chairman, Dr Hussain Hamid has focused on the establishment of criteria to classify listed companies in terms of Sharia-compliance and accounting practices.

The standards are divided into five sections and cover the following areas: definitions of terms and criteria; implications for brokers and investors; guidelines for compliance for conventional firms; conventional income guidelines; and general rules and regulations.

Mr Essa Kazim is Chairman of the DFM.

Source: http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?c=3&cg=2&t=1&id=18389