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 - 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 - 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)

MALAYSIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Malaysia Delays Issue in Offshore Yuan Bond Market

WSJ WALL STREET JOURNAL  - HONG KONG—The Malaysian government's investment holding arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd., which is looking to issue as much as $78.3 million in yuan-denominated Islamic trust certificates, or sukuk, postpone the pricing of the bond due to volatile market conditions, people familiar with the situation said Thursday. (source)

INDONESIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Indonesia Plans $1 Billion Global Islamic Bond Issue

WSJ.COM - JAKARTA—Indonesia plans to begin investor meetings next week for a global sukuk issue of about $1 billion, the country's finance minister said. 

Agus Martowardojo said late Wednesday that the government had met with arrangers of the Islamic-bond issue and would start visiting "global financial hubs" next week, raising the prospect of imminent issuance. The government previously said that a global sukuk issue would be likely in the third quarter.(source)