FINANCE - Malaysian bankers push for Islamic finance to guide banking reforms

LONDON, Oct 8 — The push for reforms to the global financial sector after the recent crisis would gain from studying the principles of Islamic finance, according to leading bankers from Malaysia, the premier hub for this sector.

CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak (picture) and Bank Muamalat chairman Tan Sri Munir Majid spearheaded a panel discussion on Islamic banking at the World Muslim Leadership Forum that detailed how the principles of strict collateral, profit and risk-sharing and real economic activity that underpin Islamic financial transactions would help to bring in the required ethics and into conventional financing where sub-prime financing was seen as a leading cause of the global collapse of the last three years.

OPINION - Why should a democracy block Islamic banking? - Geopolitical notes from India

M D Nalapat* -Although efforts have been made over the past twenty years to bring Islamic banking into India — a country that has more Muslims than Pakistan — as yet the Reserve Bank of India and its master, the Union Finance Ministry, has not given permission for the same. The reason is simple. Across the financial establishment in India, the influence of US and EU financial interests is overpowering. Several senior civil servants have their close relatives working in such institutions, and therefore accept the advice given by them. Certainly, banks in foreign countries will not want the Indian government to clear the way for the establishment of Islamic banking centres, for that may result in funds flowing from Zurich, London, Frankfurt and New York (all major “Islamic” banking locations) to Mumbai or Kochi.

CONFERENCES - IFSB - WORKSHOPS (on invitation only)

1. 2011, Jan 27 - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia - 4th Shari`ah Seminar on Realising Shari`ah Response to Legal and Regulatory Challenges Facing Islamic Finance

Participation in the Seminar is BY INVITATION only.

2. 2010, Nov 8 - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia - IFSB-FIS Workshops for Regulatory and Supervisory Authorities of the IFSB Member Countries

Participation in the Workshops is BY INVITATION only.   For more information on the Workshops, please contact Ms. Yazmin Aziz at yazmin@ifsb.org

BANKING - The IFSB announces the establishment of an International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation

Washington, 7 October 2010 - The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) today facilitated the signing of the Memorandum of Participation for the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). The primary objective of the IILM is to issue Sharī`ah-compliant financial instruments in order to facilitate more efficient and effective liquidity management solutions for institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS), as well as to facilitate greater investment flows of Sharī`ah-compliant instruments across borders.

BANKING - Hong Leong to expand banking ops to China and Vietnam (and Indonesia)

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) plans to expand its banking operations to another emerging market after venturing into China and Vietnam, said president and chief executive officer Raymond Choong.

PUBLICATIONS - ISRA - An Analysis of the Role and Competency of the Shari'ah Committees (SCs) of Islamic Banks and Financial Service Providers

An Analysis of the Role and Competency of the Shari'ah Committees (SCs) of Islamic Banks and Financial Service Providers

Dr. Rusni and Research team

ISRA Research Paper (No. 18/2010)
65 Pages

PUBLICATIONS - ISRA - Islamic pricing benchmarking

Islamic pricing benchmarking

Prof. Dato' Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar, Asst. Prof. Dr. Azman Md Noor, Prof. Dr. Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera & Research Team

78 Pages

ISRA Research Paper (No. 17/2010)

LIFESTYLE - Islamic search engines - Imhalal.com and Taqwa.me

DUBAI— You could call it the battle of Islamic search engines. First, there was Imhalal.com, now there’s Taqwa.me, the “conscience engine” eyeing a Muslim audience and all those looking for a safe browsing experience on the Web.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Indonesia sells IDR 2 trillion sukuk via private placement

Indonesia raised IDR 2 trillion (USD 224 million) from a private placement of non-tradable Islamic debt or Sukuk, the Finance Ministry said on 7, October, 2010.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Profit share Bakrieland Development, ELTY, sukuk ijarah

On Oct 5, 2010 it was announced that the I ELTY Siapkan Sukuk Ijarah would pay a profit share of Rp 5.99 billion over the year 2009 and that the proceeds would be available at Pt Kustodian Effek Sentral Indonesia KSEI at Oct 06, 2010.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Adhi Karya I profit share

On Sept 23, 2010 Adhi Karya Sukuk I (Mudharaba) declared a profit share of Rp 4.5 billion on a total investment of Rp 125 billion.  It was the net profit as a result of Rp 6.21 billion on the RSUD Batam and Rp 8.94 billion on the PDAM Dumai projects.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SOVEREIGN SUKUK - Reopening series IFR0003 - IFR0005 en IFR 0008

It was announced that the following Sovereign Sukuk auctions would be reopened :

Surat Berharga Syariah Negara Seri IFR0003 (reopening)
Surat Berharga Syariah Negara Seri IFR0005 (reopening)
Surat Berharga Syariah Negara Seri IFR0008 (reopening)

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Metrodata redeems IDR4.5 million sukuk

JAKARTA: PT Metrodata Electronics Tbk boughtback its sukuk ijarah series I/2008 amounting IDR4.5 billion from the existing amount IDR90 billion.

“The source fund of the buyback was generated from Metrodata’s cash as stated in its financial statement as per 30 June 2010, where the net cash derived from the operational reaching IDR70.6 billion,” said Metrodata’s Corporate Secretary Susanto Djaja today.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - RATING - Pefindo downgrades Arpeni Pratama bond's rating

JAKARTA: Indonesian Credit Rating Agency (Pefindo) downgraded the rating of PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line Tbk's bond II/2008 to ‘D’ from previously ‘CCC’.

Pefindo's Analysts Ronald Hertanto and Vonny Widjaja informed that the rating downgrade was affected by the shipping company's failure to pay the coupon of bond II/2008 as much as IDR14.5 billion on September 18 2010.

CAPITAL MARKETS - RATING - Pefindo upgrades PKT bond rating to AA and confirms rating for Salim Ivomas Pratama sukuk AA-

JAKARTA: PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) upgraded the rating of bonds and sukuk belongs to PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (PKT) from level idAA- and idAA-(sy) to idAA and idAA(sy) due to the stable of natural gas supplies which supported the high utility level for the listed company’s bonds.

FASHION - HALAL - Islamic beauty: Can halal cosmetics outgrow their niche?

 By Martina Fuchs

EVENTS - 10th Islamic Book Fair Jakarta - 4-13 March, 2011

Clip from Islamic Book Fair 2009 hereunder

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Pefindo upgrades Indosat rating prospect

JAKARTA : Indonesia stellar rating agency PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) upgrades the prospect rating of PT Indosat Tbk’s bonds and sharia bonds (sukuk) from negative to stable.

In a research today, analysts Niken Indriarsih and Vonny Widjaja at Pefindo said that the upgrade was triggered by growing customers, earnings from cellular phone service and more stable financial leverage.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Pefindo assigns idA+ for Mitra Adiperkasa

JAKARTA: PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo), a rating agency, assigns PT Mitra Adiperkasa’s rating at idA+.

Analysts Vonny Widjaja and Niken Indriarsih at Pefindo said  that the MAPI-coded company’s bond issuance for Bond I/2009 and liarah sukuk I/2009, was also set at stable rating, idA+.

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Indonesia's 5-yr sukuk yield falls in auction

(Reuters) JAKARTA, Oct 5 - Indonesia's finance ministry said the average weighted yield for its five-year sukuk was 7.18862 percent in an auction on Tuesday, down 68 basis points from a previous auction in July.

It raised a total of 382 billion rupiah in the auction on Tuesday, below its target of 1 trillion rupiah to help finance the state budget deficit. (Reporting by Chandni Vatvani and Janeman Latul; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)

CAPITAL MARKETS - SUKUK - Indonesia sells 382 bln rph sukuk, below target

JAKARTA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia's finance ministry said it raised a total of 382 billion rupiah ($42.80 million) in a sukuk auction on Tuesday, below its target of 1 trillion rupiah, to help finance the state budget deficit.

'Total incoming offers from five series auctioned reached 1.148 trillion rupiah, winning (bids) were 382 billion rupiah,' said Dahlan Siamat, sukuk director at the debt office.

FINANCE - MALAYSIA - Develop Other Premium Islamic Financial Products & Services, Says Ahmad Husni

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Although Malaysia has done very well in the sukuk market, it has to seriously develop its capacity in other products and services that would command greater premiums not only within the domestic market but also in the foreign Islamic financial markets.

PUBLICATONS - REPORTS - IMF - Islamic Banks: More Resilient to Crisis?

A new IMF study compares the performance of Islamic banks and conventional banks during the recent financial crisis, and finds that Islamic banks, on average, showed stronger resilience during the global financial crisis.

See also : http://islamicfinanceindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/09/banking-islamic-banks-fared-better.html
See also : http://islamicfinanceindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/09/articles-imf-effects-of-global-crisis.html

LIFESTYLE - TOURISM - Sultanate to showcase Islamic tourism at Travel Mart 2010

SHEIKH Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, director of the Brunei Tourism Board (BTB), said he will be using the upcoming International Islamic Conference and Travel Mart 2010 in Kuala Lumpur as an avenue to promote Brunei's Islamic holiday package.

EDUCATON - New Malaysia measures to boost talent pool - Special Employment Pass SEP

Malaysia has introduced several measures to boost the development of human capital in the Islamic finance industry under the Malaysia International Islamic Finance (MIFC) initiative. Developing the next generation of Islamic finance executives and experts remains a major priority of the government and the Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank.

CAPITAL MARKETS - REPORTS - IFIR 2010 - Islamic fund assets remained flat in 2009

see also : http://islamicfinanceindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/09/islamic-funds-ifir-2010-from-ernst.html


“The Islamic fund industry needs to evaluate new strategies to restimulate growth. Islamic fund assets remained flat in 2009 at $52 billion, whereas the potential wealth pool grew by 20 percent, now estimated at $480 billion,” concludes the Islamic Funds & Investments Report (IFIR) 2010 which was published by international auditing and advisory firm Ernst & Young in September 2010.

LAW - CONTRACTS - No Shariah Rules for Breaking Deals Gets Regulator Review: Islamic Finance

The leading global Islamic Finance accounting regulator is introducing conditions for contracts that comply with religious laws, seeking to standardize an industry with $1 trillion in assets under management.

The Bahrain-based Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions will for the first time provide a “Shariah-compliant way” for parties to enter and exit contracts, Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, secretary-general of the agency, based in Manama, Bahrain, said in a phone interview Sept. 30. The rules will be enforced by December after approval by the advisory board, he said.

BANKING - TAKAFUL - Bank Negara Malaysia reviews new guidelines for Takaful products

Because of market developments and increasing competition which has led to product innovation and diversity, the Prudential Financial Policy Department of Bank Negara Malaysia has reviewed the regulatory framework for insurance and Takaful products "to further enhance consumer protection while according greater flexibility for insurers and Takaful operators to respond to changing market conditions, both in managing risks and enhancing their competitiveness".

CAPITAL MARKETS - Islamic ETFs: Here to Stay?

The concept is simple: Market makers bunch together “clean” stocks, and market players buy those stocks up for trade. For those who enjoy the thrill of buying and selling stocks, Islamic exchange traded funds (ETFs) are the filtered alternative. An ETF is basically a fund which behaves like equity. The difference between mutual funds and an ETF is that it is readily available on the secondary market and stock quotes are available throughout the day, as opposed to mutual funds whose net asset value (NAV) is calculated at the end of the day.

FINANCE - Islamic Private Equity Firms Encouraged to Revisit their Business Model

Manama 03 October 2010: Islamic private equity firms face a reality check post the financial crises, said Ashar Nazim, Director and Head of Islamic Financial Services at Ernst and Young, speaking today at the Islamic Financial Services Board summit, titled Business Models in Islamic Finance - Challenges and Opportunities in Bahrain.

FOOD AND DRUGS - RI becomes world’s halal standard reference

www.poultryindonesia.com - September Edition

Indonesia has been chosen as a reference to standardize the world’s halal label, World Halal Council president Lukmanul Hakim said lately. “We will set a halal label standard, referring to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore,” Lukmanul said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The agreement was taken in a recent international meeting participated by 31 institutions such as the Australian Federation of Islamic Council (AFIC), Halal Transaction of Omaha of the U.S.A., and Shandong Islamic Association (SIA), China.

BANKING - Maybank Syariah may start operations next year

JAKARTA: Bank Indonesia (BI) has approved the Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) Indocorp plan to convert its commercial bank status to a sharia bank, named Maybank Syariah Indonesia, BI official said Friday.

“We have granted the permit, so maybe next year [the bank will be operational],” BI director for sharia banking Mulya Siregar said.