After A Long vacation, We will back to write and update our Isec blog, by news and articles concerning the Islamic Economics and Finance.

Thanks all and sorry for the delay.

The sources informed that the company has secured this loan in order to speed up the development as well as exploration of its oil and gas assets in Egypt and Yemen.

The sources further informed that this is the first time that IFC is offering monetary resource to Kuwaiti company. The package includes a $35 million reserve based facility as well as a $15 million income participation facility. The financing from IFC will be carried out through murabaha transaction.

As per reports of media, Kuwait Energy has grown importantly in reach and asset allocation, quickly allowing it to gain the reputation of the fastest growing independent E&P company in the Middle East.

Source : Topnews.ae

A large Muslim population and growing wealth provide a ready retail Islamic banking market in China, a senior executive of Prudential’s Kuala Lumpur-based fund management unit said.

The US$1 trillion Islamic finance industry is targeting rapidly growing Asian economies such as China and India and new markets like Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka to offset slowing growth in its traditional base of Gulf Arab states.

Islamic banks are touting wheat-based deposit products and metal-based funds as ethical investments to appeal to investors burnt by the recent conventional banking crisis.

Islamic banking is also marketed as socially responsible investing in non-Muslim countries such as France and India to avoid fanning religious sensitivities.

“China is like Indonesia, a sleeping giant,” said Zulkifli Ishak, syariah investment director with Prudential Fund Management Bhd, which manages about US$4.03bil. Kuala Lumpur is Prudential’s Islamic finance hub.

“If Islamic finance can tap Muslims, especially in Xinjiang, then there will be a huge potential for the Islamic space in China,” he said in an interview.

China has a Muslim population of about 37 million.

Non-Muslims made up more than half the investors of most of Prudential’s Islamic retail funds in Malaysia, Zulkifli said.

Prudential’s RM42mil China equity fund rose 46% in the half year to Aug 31, about the same as some conventional China equity funds run by ING and OSKUOB, he said.

But China had to amend its tax laws which now made Islamic financial transactions costlier than conventional deals, Zulkifli said.

“Regulators in China need to look at the taxation issue,” he said. “Once they do that, then the opportunity for Islamic finance to grow in China would be much greater.” — Reuters

Source: http://thestar.com.my/

It’s  a big time, for voices like Mr Volker to be heard, before it is too late, since there is a crisis, a solution is needed, and the question is how long the world economy can survive with this fiancial fever, before the catastrophic disaster.

Making banks less risky, is the first step forward, donating blood to the economy,  the fact that sharia compliant solutions applied by islamic banks risk-free, or at least sharing-risk-profit, still widely far from being affected by this worldwide financial fever, and risk-flu, All add a great value to Mr Volker suggestions to the economy of market and the administration of obama.

“Extensive participation in the impersonal, transaction-oriented capital market does not seem to me an intrinsic part of commercial banking.”

- Paul Volcker

The remaining 24% of Warba Bank will be owned by the state-run Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The Kuwaiti government has given the bank a capital of 100 million dinars ($350 million), making the stake owned by the public worth $265 million, or $240 per citizen.

Warba Bank is the fourth Islamic bank in the oil-rich emirate.

Other Islamic banks in the country include Kuwait Finance House, one of the world’s largest Islamic banks, Boubyan Bank, and Kuwait International Bank.

Islamic banks comply with Sharia law, which prohibits the payment of interest fees in exchange for the lending of money.

Source : Financemarkets.co.uk

Maldives News

Over 68,000 people have paid Zakat

The ministry of Islamic affairs has said more than 68,000 people have paid Zakat as of Sunday, reports Haveeru.

Ahmadullah Jameel, assistant director general, said a total of Rf1,673,486 (US$130,200) has been received so far, including those who paiF via SMS and those who deposited the money at ward offices.

Over Rf10,000 (US$778) has paid Zakat from the SMS service introduced by Dhiraagu, he said. After Wataniya offered a similar service, over 600 customers have paid Zakat via SMS.

Source :Minivannews.com/

Abu Dhabi’s government-owned Al Hilal Bank plans to open Kazakhstan’s first Islamic bank in December, starting with two branches, and wants to expand to other former Soviet Union states, its CEO said.

The lender is on track to break even by end 2009 and will be profitable in 2010, said Mohamed Berro.

Al Hilal will headquarter the new bank called Al Hilal Islamic Bank in Almaty, with an initial capital of about Dh100 million ($27m).

“We plan to start operations in December this year with two branches in Almaty and Asthana. We will be the first Islamic bank in Kazakhstan, which has passed a new Islamic banking law,” said Berro.

“It will be a stepping stone to enter former Soviet Union states,” he said, declining to elaborate. Some 75 per cent of Kazakhstan’s population are Muslims, said Berro.

The Islamic lender, which opened in June last year, has an authorised capital of Dh4bn and a paid-up capital of Dh1.5bn.

“We will be raising it to Dh2bn. We added Dh500m recently and will add Dh250m by the end of September. Another Dh250m will be added in November,” he said.

Al Hilal plans to expand its branches in the UAE to tap the growing retail market. “We have 11 branches now, we will add four more before December. We want to open eight to 10 branches a year,” he said.

The bank has a five per cent market share in deposits, loans and assets in the UAE’s Islamic banking sector, Berro said, adding the bank’s total assets ending June stood at about Dh13bn.

Credit extended by the bank totalled about Dh7.5bnthis year until June, making it the largest Islamic lender in the UAE, he said.

Loans growth is expected to continue in the second half, he said, without giving figures. The bank’s loan book stands at Dh9bn while deposits total Dh11 billion, Berro said.

Source : Business24-7.ae

She made the disclosure at the launch of Buses Loan Scheme jointly financed by the Sokoto State government and FinBank Nigeria Plc, pointing out that it will be a huge success to the bank and the State.

She said: “We held our last Annual General Meeting here in March and our Islamic Banking Division is taking off from the State soon. This is beside our huge presence in retail and corporate banking services to the State through our business offices located in the seat of the Caliphate”. According to her, the presence of Islamic bank in the state will meet the desire of their customers who demand for Islamic banking.

She said : “This will assuage the yearnings of our customers who have craved for Islamic Banking products and services for a long time. The decision to flag it off from the Seat of the Caliphate is in recognition of the pivotal role this city has played in promoting Islamic virtues and its historical antecedent.” Mrs. Iroche said the bank was constructing a leisure park in the GRA, which would be managed and maintained by it to provide recreational facilities for the people of the state. She commended the Sokoto State government for providing enabling environment for the bank to do business in the state and promised to explore areas of partnership with the state government in order to boost the economy of the state.

In his speech, Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko said 150 buses were purchased at N4.2m and will be distributed to member of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and other people at cheaper rate with two years repayment period.

According to him, the project is meant to reposition the State’s poverty reduction agency to play its role and also boost it to take its roots in the State.

Source : Allafrica.com

Takaful Islamic Insurance:
Concepts and Regulatory Issues
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Publication Date: July 21, 2009
US$120.00; Cloth; 300 pp.; ISBN: 978-0-470-82352-1

Source : Infozine.com

This is the first time that a local Qatari bank has been appointed as the sole MLA and Bookrunner for such a high-profile transaction. The Islamic facility will be subject to the final regulatory approvals.

Salah Jaidah, QIB CEO, said during the signature, ceremony:
‘We are proud to be the first Qatari bank appointed to lead such an important transaction for the State of Qatar’s most important real estate developer. This, I believe, is the result of our determination, continuous professionalism and expertise in Islamic banking, in particular, and the growing international footprint of QIB. Today, QIB can cater to the needs of its large corporate clients both in Qatar and abroad with the same high standard levels of any other international bank.’

Speaking on behalf of Qatari Diar, CEO Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad stated, ‘We are pleased that a company like Qatari Diar with a diversified portfolio worldwide can find a leading Qatari bank such as QIB is able to support us for large international Sharia’-compliant transactions such as this one.’

Jean Marc Riegel, General Manager Corporate Investment and Development Group at QIB, said:
‘The appointment of QIB as MLA and Bookrunner for this transaction is a clear indication of the international expansion strategy and Investment Banking strategy of the Bank and its ability to deliver the needs of key Qatari companies both in Qatar and abroad. This transaction comes at a time where Europe and France, in particular, are eager to develop Islamic finance and is at the same time in line with QIB Group’s plan to serve European and French markets.’