IslamicFinance.de

At the 6th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Summit on 7 May, MAS announced that it has issued a set of Guidelines on the Application of Banking Regulations to Islamic Banking. The Guidelines consolidate the various regulations and clarifications which MAS has issued, and offers specific information on the regulatory treatment of various Islamic structures. This set of Guidelines will provide greater clarity and certainty for financial institutions offering Islamic banking products in Singapore.

MAS has also issued two regulations clarifying that, with immediate effect, Singapore-based banks may enter into Diminishing Musharaka financing and Spot Murabaha transactions. In addition, MAS has ensured equal tax, regulatory and liquidity treatment of the Singapore dollar sukuk with Singapore Government Securities, effective immediately. Taken together, these various changes will allow banks to conduct a wide range of Islamic financing activities, and to have greater flexibility in structuring instruments to meet their risk management needs.

Please view the Guidelines here:

According to a Press Release on 9 February, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it had assigned its 'A' rating to Export-Import Bank of Korea's (Kexim; foreign currency A/Stable/A-1; local currency --/--/A-1) three-year, Malaysian ringgit (MRY) 220 million, 4.75%, fixed-rate senior unsecured bonds, priced on Feb. 4, 2009. The notes are to be drawn down from a MRY3 billion multi-currency Islamic and conventional medium-term program.