AUSTRALIA - FUNDS - Crescent Wealth to launch Australia's 1st Islamic pension fund

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Australian fund manager Crescent Wealth plans to launch the country's first Islamic pension fund by December and allocate between 15 to 30 percent of it in property, its managing director said.
Talal Yassine said Crescent Wealth hopes to build the fund to between A$4 billion ($4.03 billion) and A$6 billion in five years.
Crescent Wealth, which was established last year, currently has less than A$5 million under management and advice but Yassine expects strong growth for his fund due to a lack of available Shariah-compliant financial products in Australia.  (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - CIMB takes aim at Goldman, JPMorgan

www.btimes.com.my - CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Southeast Asia’s top-ranked investment bank over the past three years, is taking aim at a bigger market following its acquisition of some of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s operations in Asia.

The Malaysian company can now compete with rivals including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co for Asia- Pacific deals, Chief Executive Officer Nazir Razak said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. CIMB agreed in April to buy most of Edinburgh-based RBS’s investment banking and cash equities businesses in the region for US$142 million.

The acquisition, which initially seemed to be an “audacious” idea, will complete the bank’s operations and help CIMB boost market capitalization to more than RM100 billion (US$31 billion) by 2015, Nazir said. That’s about 75 percent more than its current value. The Kuala Lumpur-based lender also targets becoming one of the top three Southeast Asian banks by assets and return on equity.  (source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - The Australian News Opinion National Affairs Business Aus IT Higher Ed Media Sport Arts Life Magazines Careers Video Business News Opinion Companies Markets Wall Street Journal Economics Mining & Energy Wealth Aviation Financial Services Legal Property Top 50 Login Sign Up Search for: Stock Quotes: Markets Crescent unveils first sharia-compliant fund

www.theaustralian.com.au -MUSLIM Australians will be able to stash their cash with today's launch of Crescent Wealth's first Islamic cash management trust, which hopes to attract up to $100 million during the next few years.

Managing director Talal Yassine said he expected much of the money to come from Australian mosques. "Islamic Australians and institutions have had little choice so far but to put their cash reserves in non-compliant cash trusts," he said. (source)

AUSTRALIA - BANKING - Middle East banks (Albaraka - QNB) turn to Australia

www.theage.com.au - MIDDLE Eastern and Asian banks are eyeing an entry into the Australian market, with several believed to have started in recent months the long process of securing a banking licence.
The move should fill a financing gap caused by some stressed European lenders scaling back their exposure to Australia.
Towards the end of last year, European groups pulled $16.7 billion from the local economy as they began feeling the funding squeeze in their home markets.

The shortfall this caused has generally been met by Asian banks.
Banking industry sources have named several overseas players as taking initial steps to secure an Australian banking licence. They include commercial Taiwanese lender Cathay United Bank and Middle Eastern commercial major Qatar National Bank.
Saudi Arabian Islamic banking specialist Al Baraka has also been named as eyeing a foothold, suggesting the federal government's efforts in promoting Australia's involvement in Islamic financing are gaining traction. Given the time and capital involved, not all banks see the licence process through, particularly as their commercial goals can quickly change. (source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Australia's NSW revives Islamic finance push

www.reuters.com - May 13 (Reuters) - The government of the Australian state of New South Wales, home to the country's financial capital Sydney, will send a group to Dubai this week to discuss ways to develop the Islamic finance industry, officials said.
The delegation, led by New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell and including financial services professionals, will explore regulatory and legal issues at a roundtable discussion with the Dubai Export Development Corp on Tuesday.  (source)

AUSTRALIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Government barring Australia from a trillion dollar global market

www.abc.net.au - ELEANOR HALL: The Federal Government has been told the answer to overcoming the lack of infrastructure investment in Australia could be Islamic finance.

It's a system of banking which uses joint ventures, profit sharing and leasing to get around the Islamic prohibition on charging interest.

The head of Australia's first Islamic finance company says a potential investment boom is being stymied by barriers to Islamic finance in Australia.   (source)

AUSTRALIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - NAB in talks for potential Australian debut sukuk

www.reuters.com - SYDNEY, April 5 (IFR) - Australia is on the road towards establishing a local Islamic bond market although the country's first sukuk issuance may be several months away, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported.

National Australia Bank (Aa2/AA-/AA-) is understood to be in talks with regulators on a potential debut Sharia-compliant bond offering as the issuer seeks to marry local regulations with such deals' Islamic requirements.

Any sukuk must secure prior approval from Australian regulators, particularly the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). (source)

AUSTRALIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - NAB Eyes Islamic Bond Issuance Down Under

blogs.wsj.com - Growing appetite for Islamic finance is spurring both large and small Australian financials to boost their offering of Sharia-compliant fixed-income assets, the head of the country’s first Islamic wealth manager said on Thursday.
National Australia Bank Ltd., or NAB,  is considering selling up to US$500 million in Islamic bonds in what would be the first issuance of Sharia-compliant debt securities in Australia, two people familiar with the deal told Dow Jones Newswires.
The bonds would be structured to comply with Muslim law by paying a profit from the bond, rather than interest, which is banned in Islam. A spokeswoman for NAB declined to comment. (source)

AUSTRALIA - ARTICLES - Accommodating Islamic Banking and Finance in Australia

Accommodating Islamic Banking and Finance in Australia

Salim Farrar

University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

University of New South Wales Law Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 413-442, 2011

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 12/15

Abstract:
Islamic banking and finance is still at the embryonic stage in Australia. There have been uncertainties as to how and to what extent the systems of governance at State and Federal levels should adapt in light of the difficulties faced by both local Islamic finance service providers and potential Islamic investors from overseas looking to invest their petrodollars in Australia. This paper takes a contextual and critical look at the current regulatory framework with special focus on taxation and prudential standards, and explores the need and possibilities for reform. (download link)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Crescent Wealth Partners with top US based Islamic fund manager Saturna Capital

au.ibtimes.com - Crescent Wealth, Australia's first Islamic wealth manager, announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with Saturna Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of US based Saturna Capital) to act as the portfolio manager to the Crescent International Equity Fund to be launched later this year

Saturna's strong fund performance in the U.S. underscored the potential of what he believes can be achieved in the Australian market, Managing Director of Crescent Wealth, Talal Yassine, said.

"Our collaboration with Saturna Capital deepens our expertise in global Islamic finance and will give Australian investors the confidence to invest in our Crescent International Equity Fund," Mr Yassine said. (source)

MALAYSIA - PUBLICATIONS - Islamic Finance News : THE GUIDE 2012

Country Reports

Australia: The wait continues
Brunei Darussalam: Islamic banking and finance
China: The dragon stirs
Hong Kong: The gatekeeper
Indonesia: Playing catch-up
Japan: Reviewing priorities
Korea: Government intervention crucial
Malaysia: Cautiously optimistic
Singapore: High expectations
Thailand: Focusing on capital markets

The Full Guide 2012

AUSTRALIA - Getting involved in the community

www.theislamicglobe.com - Almir Colan, a well known figure in the Australian Islamic finance scene, has jumped aboard the social  networking bandwagon by launching AusCif (the Australian Centre for Islamic Finance) with some colleagues. Colan told The Islamic Globe:

“AusCif actually evolved from the Islamic Finance Australia Facebook page, which… made me rethink how we are engaging with the community and media in terms of what is going on Down Under with Islamic banking and finance...So now I am starting community events to encourage awareness of what is Islamic finance and what it could eventually become. For instance, I just finished a few events in Melbourne and Sydney and next month we are going to Brisbane, Canberra and so on.”  (source)

AUSTRALIA - INDEX - Australia to Get First Islamic Index

www.wsj.com - Thomson Reuters is on the brink of giving Australia its first Islamic index.

Starting in early February, Thomson Reuters and Australia’s Crescent Wealth are jointly launching Islamic Australia Index — a research-based index that will offer local and international investors a tool to help invest in accordance with Islamic investment principles in the local market.

The initiative comes ahead of an expected government proposal to change tax guidelines to help open up the local market for Islamic investment products, though there remains some concern about the market’s growth potential.(source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Property fund looks up downunder

Australia ’s leading Islamic finance house, MCCA, has just revealed financial results for the MCCA Income Fund – the country’s first Shari’ah compliant investment fund registered with ASIC – which achieved a return of 5.31% for the year.
Dr. Akhtar Kalam, chairman of MCCA, said: “The professionally managed fund established in 2009 will soon surpass A$15m ($15.3m) and invests mainly in residential mortgage investments in Victoria (49%) and New South Wales (46%).  (source)

AUSTRALIA - BANKING - Aussie Islamic Finance, A Mirage

wsj.com - Don’t expect a surge in Australian Islamic finance even when the country’s government finally releases a widely expected proposal to change tax guidelines, opening up the local market to more of these type of products. Still relatively obscure here, the major Australian banks offer only a small number of retail investors watered down versions of the products that prohibit the payment of interest in compliance with Islamic laws. (source)

AUSTRALIA - BANKING - First Islamic bank for Australia

It’s every Islamic home financing company’s dream to become an Islamic bank, but it is not necessarily the dream of every community cooperative.

However, that is just what is about to happen to Australia’s MCCA as the building blocks are put in place to see the launch of Australia’s first Islamic retail bank catering to the needs of the domestic population – both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. (source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Australia's Crescent Wealth targets Malaysian investors

MELBOURNE: Crescent Wealth, Australia's first Islamic wealth manager, is targeting a signifi-cant opportunity for its managed funds to attract investment from Malaysia, which is home to the world's second-largest Islamic funds market with about US$5 billion (RM15.65 billion) under management.

Crescent Wealth, which last month launched the first Islamic Australian equity fund, is pioneering Australia's potential to become a global hub for Islamic investing and tap into the A$1.4 trillion (RM4.52 trillion) global Islamic financial services market, the firm said yesterday. (source)

AUSTRALIA - TAX - A Super IF opportunity: Shari'ah-based superannuation is there for the taking

Australia unveiled its new annual budget amidst a soaring currency and rising prices. Of significance to the Islamic finance market is the submission of the final report that recently went to the Board of Taxation to help create the IF an equal footing, tax wise, with conventional banking, creating an infrastructure that does not penalise in any way Shari'ah-compliant institutions or products.  (source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Crescent Wealth launches Australia's first Islamic investment option

CPIfinancial.net - Crescent Wealth is planning to launch a further three funds – international equities, property, and income funds – which together will form Australia’s first Islamic superannuation option.

Crescent Wealth, Australia’s first Islamic wealth manager, have announced the launch of the nation’s first Islamic Australian equity fund creating a new opportunity in the superannuation industry, and tapping the potential for Australians to access the $1.4 trillion global Islamic financial services market.

The Crescent Australian Equity Fund (CAEF), which launches today with an initial $5.5 million in funds under management and advice, offers all Australians an investment that is managed in accordance with Islamic principles, and is aimed at investors who are seeking a socially responsible alternative option.

Crescent Wealth, currently the only local manager with specialist expertise in Islamic investing, is targeting the significant potential for Islamic funds in Australia, which it estimates will grow to as much as $13 billion in funds under management by 2019 from a potential investable universe of as much as $8 billion today. (source)

AUSTRALIA - CONFLICT SETTLEMENT - Client Update: Arbitration, religion and discrimination

In brief: Could an arbitration agreement stipulate the religion of an arbitrator without breaching anti-discrimination laws? Partner Stephen McComish (view CV), Lawyer Kristian Maley and Law Graduate Samantha Lord report on an important decision of the UK Supreme Court that could have ramifications for businesses within our region.

• Background
• The decision
• The effect of the decision

(full story and source)