BANKING - Noor Islamic Bank looks East

www.emirates247.com - Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank is turning to the East, as it seeks to expand its international footprint beyond the Middle East and Turkey.
The bank, a leading Islamic finance provider in the UAE, believes the emerging economies of South East Asia, in particular, will provide significant opportunities for it to further grow its multi-billion dollar, cross border business.
“We see tremendous opportunities stemming from greater cooperation between financial institutions in South East Asia and the GCC,” said Hussain AlQ emzi, Group CEO of Noor Investment Group and CEO of Noor Islamic Bank. (source)

FINANCE - Barwa Bank offering three-year, capital protected Islamic notes

www.gulf-times.com - Barwa Bank is offering a “unique” Shariah-compliant three-year capital protected notes linked to the Turkey and Indonesia equity markets until June 21.
“The Turkey Indonesia Equity Capital Protected Note is an investment opportunity for investors seeking potentially higher returns with 100% capital protection.
The growth is based on the performance of a selected basket of stocks in two high growth emerging markets- Indonesia and Turkey. (source)

TAKAFUL - ICIEC set to launch sukuk policy to facilitate credit enhancement

The idea of a third party sukuk guarantee fund is still being considered by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credits and Investment (ICIEC), the standalone export credit agency of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. However, according to Abdel Rahman Taha, the chief executive officer of ICIEC, the corporation "has initiated work internally to design a new sukuk policy which can be offered as a means to enhance the credit structure and appeal of sukuk. It is expected that this new policy will be able to provide the much needed respite to the sukuk market." (source)

MALAYSIA - EVENTS - Islamic bankers to meet next week Discuss slowdown and craft crisis measures - turn to Turkey, Oman and Kazakhstan

emirates247.com - Islamic finance officials will gather in Kuala Lumpur next week to debate the industry's future path and craft crisis measures, as banks' limited capital base and liquidity management ability render them vulnerable to a global slowdown. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Albaraka Group, Turkey Unit to Sell $500 Million Sukuk in 2011

Businessweek.com - Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Albaraka Banking Group BSC and its unit in Turkey may raise a total of $500 million in Islamic bonds this year, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.

Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS, the Shariah-compliant Turkish unit of the bank, may sell about $200 million in sukuk by November, while the Bahrain-based parent may raise about $300 million from a similar sale by the end of the year, Yousif said in an interview in Washington today.  (source)

WORLD - OPINION - Money politics and political freedom - Islamic finance hubs : corruption and freedom (Turkey)

KARL Kraus said: “Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.” I was recently asked to give a speech on political freedom and corruption in Muslim countries. Both areas have a direct impact on capital flight and market formation, brain drain and economic development, portfolio investors and direct investments, including Islamic finance. (source)

BANKING - EVENTS - IFSB Summit Luxembourg - World Bank declares Islamic finance a priority area

" The presence of Sri Muliani Indrawati, managing director of the World Bank Group, underlined the importance the global multilateral development bank views the Islamic finance industry."

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting organization for the global Islamic financial industry, embarked on a new phase of its development which may lead to a review of its mandate to facilitate a wider reach including those countries and organizations that are not currently members of the board. (full story)

OPINION - Muslim BRIC has arrived

THE investing and financing world is about country linkages that are economic and financial opportunities clustered as growth stories. The most recognised country linkage is BRIC (Brazil, Russia India and China): it conjures mental images of geographies, growth, size, demand, etc.

Another term that is increasingly invoked by businesses looking for opportunities is 'RDE,' or Rapidly Developing Economies, and includes examples of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and so on. To put theory into practice, globally committed firms, like Thomson Reuters, have established positions like Global Head of RDE. (full story)

ECONOMY - The Government of Indonesia and Turkey agreed on the use of Preferential Trade Agreement (OIC model)

The Government of Indonesia and Turkey agreed on the use of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) countries of Islamic Conference (OIC) to be one that could encourage greater trade between the two countries. Indonesia has yet to ratify the PTA-related trade with OIC countries while Turkey has ratified. (full story)

BANKING - Al-Baraka plans up to $500 million sukuk in Q1 2011 - Indonesia first priority now

BEIRUT: Bahraini Islamic lender Al-Baraka will issue up to $500 million in Islamic bonds in the first quarter of 2011, its chief executive said Thursday.

“We will issue sukuk in 2011 for the group in Bahrain between $200 and $500 million,” Adnan Yousif told Reuters on the sidelines of a banking conference in Beirut.

“It is a medium-term sukuk for five years and it will help financial institutions to attract new clients to take part in these sukuk,” he added.

FINANCIAL MARKETS - Muslim Nations Plan Stock Index Next Year to Spur Trade: Islamic Finance - Turkey to coordinate

Huseyin Erkan, chairman and chief executive officer of Istanbul Stock Exchange. Photographer: Jamie Rector/Bloomberg

TRADE FINANCE - Sukuk market will bounce back over the next two years

ELAF Bank is a wholesale Islamic bank incorporated in Bahrain in 2007. Its shareholders include Aref Investment Group of Kuwait; Kuwait Investment Company (KIC); Sukuk Holding Company; Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector funding arm of the Islamic Development Bank; and Qatar Islamic Bank.

It started with the original objective of developing a secondary market in sukuk and to be a market maker. In fact its original name was the cumbersome Sukuk Exchange Central Bank. But the oncoming global financial crisis forced the bank to retreat into more vanilla investment banking to generate enough income to cover its expenses and to prepare for the recovery in the market in 2010-2011.

BANKING - KFH having ‘strategic alliance’ talks in Japan: report Islamic banking deals in HK, Thailand, India and Indonesia being finalised

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 5, (RTRS): The Malaysian unit of Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Gulf Arab state’s biggest Islamic lender, is having “strategic alliance” negotiations in Japan, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

ZAKAT - World Zakat Forum in Yogyakarta

TEMPO Interactive, YogyakartaThe Zakat (Alms) Management Organization Association and the Yogyakarta Regional Zakat Forum will hold the World Zakat Forum in Yogyakarta from September 28 to October 2. The forum will be attended by representatives from international alms institutions from countries like Malaysia, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, England, Bahrain, Jordan, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia.