Islamic Finance
KUWAIT: Kuwait ready to become hub for Islamic finance
There is currently a tremendous opportunity for Kuwait to profile itself as a hub for Islamic finance and Islamic banking, according to Belgian academic and economist Professor Laurent Marliere. "The winners of the upcoming Kuwaiti elections could take a challenger's position in the region and benefit from the numerous advantages of the country to pioneer new ways of conceiving Islamic finance," he told the Kuwait news agency, KUNA, in an interview, on the occasion of the upcoming polls in the Gulf country. Marliere, the CEO of the Brussels-based ISFIN, the world's leading network of Islamic Finance Lawyers, follows closely the developments of Islamic finance in non-Muslim countries. "Islamic finance itself is being challenged to redefine its model, not to mimic conventional finance. There are great expectations around the globe concerning Islamic finance and Islamic banking, which are disciplines that do not belong to the Muslims exclusively but has turned into a global phenomenon," stressed the professor who teaches marketing.
MIDDLE EAST: Is Islamic finance ready for more standardisation?
As new market participants enter the scene, Shari’ah banking continues to grow despite the threat of a global recession. But is the industry also progressing in terms of unity and transparency? When bankers from East and West gathered in Manama at the 18th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference in November 2011, one topic was prevalent at nearly all discussion rounds: standardisation. But while Islamic finance is expanding to new frontiers such as Uganda, France, Egypt, South Korea and Oman, the objective to make Shari’ah-compliant financial products more standardised appears more and more like a far-fetched daydream. Let's take France, with its legal environment based on the Napoleonic Code civil. The French jurisdiction differs greatly from British Common law or Case law, the predominant legal framework in England, the centre of Islamic finance in Europe. How shall a financial solution, let's say an Islamic trade financing based on Murabaha, be used by a London-residing bank if it was legalised in France?
BRUNEI: Brunei sukuk issuances total $3.651 billion
The Autoriti Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) has announced the successful pricing of $100 million worth of sukuk or Islamic bonds. The latest issuance brings to over $3.651 billion the total sukuk issued by the Brunei Government since the Sukuk Al-Ijazah programme began in April 2006. AMBD is the managing and administering agent for Sukuk Al-Ijarah issuances. In a statement released yesterday, AMBD announced the successful pricing of the 68th issuance of the Sukuk Al-Ijarah Securities, which will carry a maturity of 91 days ending on 8 March 2012.
Islamic finance values hold key to innovation
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis which was precipitated inter alia by the conduct and perceived greed of bankers chasing profits and bonuses seemingly at any cost, there has been a revisiting of the philosophy of banking and finance especially its relationship to the public good and the real economy. In Islamic economics and finance, the concept of the Public Good (Maslaha) is well established. Islamic finance in essence should also pursue Maqasid Al-Shariah - the objectives of the Shari'ah relating especially to financial transactions, relationships and contracts. Islamic finance, stress academics such as Professor Hashim Kamali, has provided sufficient evidence that the Shari'ah has enormous potential to contribute to the Public Good. One manifestation is the proscription on investments in speculative derivatives and transactions such as CDOs which were the bane of market capitalism in the recent financial crisis. The concept of Maslaha is not confined to Islamic finance per se, but also to wider governance, governments and public life, although the application of Maslaha must be genuine, all inclusive and have no conflicts with Shari'ah injunctions.
U.S.A: Goldman Sachs Sukuk Row May Dent Industry Lure
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), the fifth biggest U.S. bank by assets, has become entangled in a debate about how Shariah compliant its $2 billion Islamic bond program is, which may diminish the allure of Islamic debt. Goldman Sachs’ sukuk program, blessed by eight of the world’s top scholars, is criticized by some Islamic advisers for not ensuring the debt will be traded at par value as mandated by Islamic law. Advisers including Riyadh-based Mohammed Khnifer of Edcomm Group Banker’s Academy in New York and Dubai-based Harris Irfan at Cordoba Capital have also said it’s unclear on how Goldman will use the funds it raises.
MALAYSIA: Mahathir urges countries to achieve 50 percent market share for Islamic banking
Even in retirement he remains the most popular politician to the Muslim "man-and-woman-in-the-street". Now as an elder statesman, Mahathir Mohamed, the former Malaysian prime minister, continues to give advice whether on the global financial crisis, on the future of the Islamic banking industry, on the Islamic gold dinar, on the future of US dollar as an international trading currency, and on his celebrated spat with arch speculator and fund manager, George Soros, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1998.
Malaysians Get Invite To Venture into Kazakhstan's Islamic Finance & Halal Business
Kazakhstan, where Muslims make up over 70 per cent of its 16-million populations, has invited Malaysians to invest in the country's Islamic finance and Halal food sectors which are set to thrive. Manager of National Export and Investment Agency of Kazakhstan (KAZNEX INVEST), Abilkair Bolatbayev, said these sectors offered huge opportunities for Malaysian investors. He said currently, eight Kazakhstan firms were involved in the Islamic finance sector.
BIBF centre is honoured
The Centre for Islamic Finance at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) has received the World's Best Islamic Training Institution Award for 2011. It received the accolade from CPI Financial's Islamic Business and Finance, a sister publication of The Banker. The award was received during the Islamic Business and Finance Awards Ceremony held at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai.
Qatar Central Bank to Hold Lenders’ Islamic Assets to Maturity
Qatari commercial banks will be required to transfer accounts from their Islamic divisions into a portfolio to be held by the central bank until they mature, under a rule separating the two kinds of finance. “These will be carried in a portfolio, outside the activity of their business,” Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani said in a telephone interview today. “We are not in the business of mixing the Islamic with the non- Islamic by the end of the year.” The central bank sent a circular to commercial lenders in February ordering them to stop taking new Islamic deposits immediately and shut Islamic branches by year-end on concern they may be using funds from the conventional bank for Islamic loans. Banks have the option to transfer Shari’ah-compliant accounts to an Islamic bank, Sheikh Abdullah said in an interview with the Qatar News Agency on Dec. 11.