IslamicFinance.de

Dr. Umar Oseni said that the collaboration between Islamic finance practitioners and academia will be vital to the development of Islamic Finance Law in Nigeria. Dr. Umar Oseni also said that western models dominate financial markets and that conventional banking has existed for over 200 years, while the Islamic finance reemerged towards the end of the last century with Tabung Hajji, West African Muslim Bank, and IsDB which was established in 1975 and this has brought improvement in the Islamic finance industry.

A Chartered Accountant and Tax Administrator, Mr. Bicci Alli has said that the federal government as well as states cannot shun Islamic financial instruments whose market is valued at over $2.6 trillion, because it has the capability to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the country.
The federal government is presently looking for financial and legal advisers and trustee firms to organise its first Islamic bond in the domestic market, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Monday. Nigeria is working on a debut sovereign sukuk but has yet to determine the size of a potential deal. Issuance of a sovereign sukuk is part of a plan by Nigeria’s debt office to develop alternative sources of funding and to establish a benchmark curve.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Thursday condemned the appointment of the governor of Nigeria’s central bank as leader of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILMC). In a statement by CAN’s president, Samson Ayokunle, the association described the appointment of Godwin Emefiele as the IILMC chairman, as unconstitutional and totally unacceptable.
According to CAN, the government’s decision to accept the appointment amounted to denouncing Nigeria as a secular state, in negation of section 10 of the 1999 constitution. “There have been reports that the IILMC recently appointed the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele as its Chairman during its 17th Governing Board meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Section 10 states that The Government of the Federation or a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion. This action by Nigeria’s government is in clear negation of the constitution, especially this section,” the statement said. The association re-emphasised its earlier allegation that the Nigerian government plans to make the country an Islamic state.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). The purpose of the MoU is to establish and implement a framework for the cooperation between the two parties for contribution to economic development and financial inclusiveness in the Asian and African region, and in so doing to enhance the ability of both organisations to achieve their respective objectives and mandates. The MoU was signed by Mr. Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the ICD, and Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, Chief Executive Officer of the IILM.

Bankers have long past expressed their disappointment in the seeming inability of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) to issue its debut sukuk. After much speculation and expectation about a debut sukuk launch last April 6, IILM will eventually issue the Islamic bond in the third quarter of 2013 – a $500 million issuance. However, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) abruptly divested the IILM’s equity subscription last Friday. But what impact the Kingdom’s departure will have on the future of the IILM remains unclear. IILM also signed signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Doha on Saturday to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations.

Kuala Lumpur-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) announced its inaugural short-term sukuk programme aimed at addressing liquidity challenges faced by Institutions that offer Islamic Financial Services. The launch of the programme is pursuant to the granting of an A-1 public rating by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. The completion of this phase of the programme paves the way for the issuance of the IILM inaugural sukuk which is expected to take place in the second quarter 2013. The sukuk programme will be the first Shariah-compliant US dollar denominated financial instrument in the market to be issued at maturities of up to one year.

A new global Islamic liquidity management corporation backed by central banks will start issuing Islamic bonds next year to help Islamic banks manage their liquidity.
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) said in October it would set up the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation to issue sharia-compliant instruments.
The liquidity management company will be backed by 11 central banks, including Malaysia, Iran and Turkey and some Gulf states and is expected to have up to $1 billion in authorised capital.

Eleven central banks and two multilateral organisations signed the Articles of Agreement for the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) in Kuala Lumpur on 25 October 2010.
The collaboration is a landmark global initiative that is aimed to assist institutions offering Islamic financial services in addressing their liquidity management in an efficient and effective manner. In addition, the initiative should facilitate greater investment flows for the Islamic financial services industry.
The initial Memorandum of Participation for the IILM was signed on 7 October 2010 in Washington on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. The signing of the Articles of Agreement today signifies the official establishment of the IILM.

The Islamic Financial Services Board today facilitated the signing of the Memorandum of Participation for the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). The primary objective of the IILM is to issue Shari`ah-compliant financial instruments in order to facilitate more efficient and effective liquidity management solutions for institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS), as well as to facilitate greater investment flows of Shari`ah-compliant instruments across borders.
This initiative is in line with the IFSB mandates (as stated in its Articles of Agreement) to: a) enhance and coordinate initiatives to develop instruments and procedures for the efficient operations and risk management; and b) encourage cooperation amongst member countries in developing the Islamic financial services industry.