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Islamic Finance

Mega Islamic bank may be launched in 2012
02/23/2012
The remaining capital will be subscribed by local sovereign wealth funds and other financial institutions and investors, said Adnan Youssef, chairman of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB).

Libyan foreign bank rolls out Islamic products as rules change
02/22/2012
Shariah-compliant finance may reap the benefits of regime changes in North Africa, where protests last year toppled three leaders who persecuted Islamists.

CME will boost Dubai oil bourse investment with Oman fund
02/22/2012
The DME is seeking to establish the Oman crude futures contract, which gives investors the option to take physical deliveries, as the benchmark for oil sales to Asia.

HSBC Amanah is Euromoney’s Best International Islamic Bank
02/21/2012
The annual awards are widely considered to be the most high profile accolades in the Islamic finance industry and recognise outstanding performance, quality, service, and innovation in the sector.

GCC forum in Oman discusses role of financial regulatory boards
02/21/2012
The conference sheds light on the role of leading employees in central banks, the banking sector, financial establishments and stock exchanges. It aims to discuss the challenges faced by these regulatory institutions, showcasing Oman's experience on

Islamic wealth industry grew 15pc-20pc over the past decade
02/20/2012
The Islamic funds industry has grown sharply over the past decade thanks to the growing number of institutions structuring products as Shariah-compliant alternative investments.

Al Hilal Bank unveils first sukuk fund
02/20/2012
The structure of the fund is open-ended and the initial offering period will last for one month beginning today.

Talking Turkey is proving difficult for Qatar National Bank
02/20/2012
The Franco-Belgian lender is seeking about 1.5 times Denizbank's book value of $2.1 billion, while Doha-based QNB is prepared to pay between 1 and 1.2 times, the people said.

Abu Dhabi Equity Partners introduces Soft Commodity backed Islamic Finance
02/20/2012
Juan Fernando Valdivieso, ADEP's Managing Partner, commented that "in order for ADEP to develop liquid and innovative soft commodity based instruments, Brazil was the logical starting point. As a core growing BRIC country, it exports annually $6

HSBC Saudi Arabia launches Amanah Sukuk Fund
02/20/2012
The fund also invests in Shariah compliant money market funds, term deposits and certificates.

Bank of Sharjah profit down 37%
02/17/2012
Total provisions were up at Dh215 million compared to Dh80 million in 2010. As of December 31, 2011, the bank's collective impairment provisions were Dh561 million.

Bahrain Islamic, Al Salam end merger talks
02/17/2012
The banks had appointed KPMG to assist in the merger talks that began in July.

S&P says global crisis has boosted growth in the sukuk market
02/16/2012
Governments in the Middle East and Asia have therefore turned instead to local investors to back their infrastructure projects.

BankDhofar set to launch Islamic banking
02/16/2012
BankDhofar is planning to implement Islamic financial services and has already invested in training programmes for executives, providing them with insights into planning and executing Islamic banking products and services.

Abu Dhabi fund eyes sale of $1.3 bln Malaysia bank stake - sources
02/15/2012
The fund had engaged in early talks with Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC), they said.

Egypt prepares to sell $2 bln Islamic bonds
02/15/2012
"The sukuk will be in dollars or euros or maybe a combination.

Abu Dhabi Islamic net profit up 12.8pc
02/14/2012
Announcing the results, the Islamic bank said the group net revenue too registered solid growth with a 11.4 per cent jump in 2011 to hit Dh 3.42 billion compared to Dh3.07 billion the year before.

Segregation of Qatari Islamic, conventional banking will reduce risk of contagion: IMF
02/13/2012
In February last year, Qatar Central Bank had directed local conventional banks that have Islamic windows, to stop opening new Islamic branches, accepting Islamic deposits, and extending new Islamic financing from 2012.

Islamic banks misleading: clients
02/13/2012
But bankers denied such accusations, saying customers signing Murabaha contract are bound to accept the fact that this contract gives banks the right to define the commodity to be purchased as an investment for those clients.

Emirates Islamic Bank suffers Dh448m loss as expenses soar
02/13/2012
The bank posted a net loss of Dh448.55 million compared to a net profit of 59.34 million in 2010, the bank said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market.