NEW YEARS THOUGHTS - Will dawn of new year take Islamic finance to next level?

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jan 3, 2011 00:42 Updated: Jan 3, 2011 00:42 

The dawn of the new Hijrah year and 2011 could either signify more of the same as in the last year or a leap toward the first steps to taking the global Islamic finance industry to the next level as Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak's government says it aspires to do.

EVENTS - Roundtable «Islamic Finance in Russia & CIS — market and regulation» Istanbul, January 25, 2011

«Islamic Finance in Russia & CIS
— market and regulation»

Istanbul, January 25, 2011

The Round table will bring together top level representatives from financial and economic ministries, central banks and other regulating bodies of Russia, CIS countries, the Gulf, Southeast Asia and Europe. The event will focus on cooperation and mutual consultations at the application of a wide range of available financial instruments to strengthen the financial system. In particular, Round table will be dedicated to Islamic finance – international experience of application, regulation and use in daily economic practice.

BANKING - Turkish bankers find Russian financial market reliable (Bank Asya)

Turkish bankers consider the Russian financial market to be stable and reliable, Cenk Karacaoglu, the Vice President of the leading Turkish financial institution Bank Asya said in Moscow. He added financial services as specific as Islamic financing is quite promising in Russia.

Mr. Karacaoglu announced this in Moscow where he took part in an international conference called "Islamic Finance. Prospects of Development in Russia".

At present, there is no intensive cooperation between Russian and Turkish banks, but this is beginning to change. Turkish banks are establishing their representative offices in Russia and entering the European market. All this shows that cooperation in a wide range of banking services has good prospects: insurance, renting etc. We want Turkish and Russian banks to intensify cooperation and jointly enter partner markets, including the Middle East region.

FINANCE - AAOIFI meets with representatives of Russian bankers association

As part of its efforts to promote Islamic finance around the world, the Secretary General of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) Dr. Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, together with representatives of the Ministry Finance, the Central Bank and the Grand Mufti of the Shura Council of Russian Muftis, has met in the Russian capital Moscow with the Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance.