WORLD - REGULATONS - AAOIFI announces the finishing of new seven shari'a standards

www.ameinfo.com - The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) announces the finishing of new seven shari'a standards, which shall be added to the existing 41 shari'a standards and the 40 accounting standards which have been announced previously.

Minhaj Advisory, in its turn, organizes an event for announcing these standards, the event titled: "Ceremony for New AAOIFI Shari'a Standards 42 - 48" which shall take place on May 23rd at Grand Hyatt Dubai, to discuss these standards with the Islamic Bank industry practitioners, and how to implement them in their applications. (source)

WORLD - FINANCE - Islamic repo agreements struggle for traction

www.reuters.com - May 10 (Reuters) - Islamic repurchase agreements may struggle to gain wide acceptance as a tool for financial institutions because the industry lacks clear rules governing their use, participants at a major industry conference told Reuters.
Liquidity management products such as Islamic repos were one of the main themes at the annual meeting of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) in Manama this week.  (source)

WORLD - REGULATIONS - AAOIFI plans reform of takaful standards

www.insuranceinsight.eu -  Khaled Al Fakih, the new secretary-general of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, outlined plans for a sweeping review of its guidelines in an interview with Reuters.

"We would like to see insightful debate ... that can help us develop standards that can benefit the industry," Fakih told Reuters, ahead of AAOIFI's annual meeting on 7 and 8 May.
His organisation plans to start consultations on reforming the operations of sharia boards, the groups of Islamic scholars which rule on whether financial institutions' activities and products are religiously acceptable, by the middle of this year. (source)

WORLD - REGULATIONS - Bahrain’s Islamic Regulator AAOIFI Issues 7 Financial Standards

www.bloomberg.com - Bahrain’s Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions issued seven Islamic standards for the industry, the regulator’s Secretary General Khaled Al Faqih said today.
The guidelines will govern financial rights or the disposal of rights, bankruptcy and liquidity management, Al Faqih said at a news conference in the capital Manama. The agency also listed rules for capital and investments protection, investment agency contracts, profit calculations from investment instruments, and the right to terminate legal contracts due to fraud, he said.  (source)

WORLD - REGULATONS - AAOIFI in wide review of Islamic finance standards

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Islamic finance may face its biggest shake-up in years as a top standard-setting body seeks to reform the way the industry does business, including the role of highly paid scholars in enforcing religious principles.
Khaled Al Fakih, the new secretary-general of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), outlined plans for a sweeping review of its guidelines in an interview with Reuters.
Some of AAOIFI's reforms may prove controversial by challenging entrenched interests in the fast-growing business. Islamic financial assets hit $1.3 trillion globally last year, a 150 percent rise in the past five years as the industry expanded beyond core markets in the Middle East and Malaysia, financial lobby group TheCityUK estimates.  (source)

WORLD - REGULATIONS - Islamic finance pressured to join accounting mainstream

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Rapid growth of Islamic finance is increasing pressure for the industry to enter the accounting mainstream, by seeking guidance from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the global body which sets the tone for book-keeping in conventional finance.

It would be a controversial move - by basing itself on religious principles, Islamic finance seeks to set itself apart from conventional finance. But some experts think the industry is becoming so big that it can no longer sit comfortably outside a trend towards harmonising accounting rules across the world.  (source)

WORLD - REGULATIONS - AAOIFI proposes Islamic finance accounting changes

www.alarabia.net - The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has proposed more detailed accounting standards for real estate while increasing disclosure for Islamic banks’ investment accounts.

The move by the Bahrain-based AAOIFI, one of the main standard-setting bodies in Islamic finance, suggests it is responding to the same kind of pressure to tighten standards that has been seen in the conventional finance industry since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008. (source)

WORLD - STANDARDS - AAOIFI Exposure Draft - Financial Accounting Standard No 26 on Investments in Real Estate

2012 AAOIFI - Exposure Draft of New Accounting Standard on Investment in Real Estate - January 2012

WORLD - STANDARDS - AAOIFI Exposure Draft - Financial Accounting Standard No 26 on Investments in Real Estate

Dear Sirs,

We would like to firstly thank you for your support of AAOIFI.

We are pleased to attach herewith the exposure draft of a proposed new accounting standard on investment in real estate.

We would like to invite comments and suggestions relating to the exposure draft. Comments and suggestions should be e-mailed to adv@aaoifi.com or eman@aaoifi.com before Sunday 8 April 2012.

We would also like to invite you to attend the public hearing meetings to discuss the exposure draft. The public hearing meetings are scheduled to be held tentatively as follows:

· in Manama, Bahrain on Thursday 22 March 2012 (10:00 a.m.); and
· in Doha, Qatar on Thursday 29 March 2012 (10:00 a.m.).

Please e-mail to adv@aaoifi.com or eman@aaoifi.com if you would like to attend the public hearing meetings. Further details of the meetings, including exact venues, will also be announced nearer to the above dates.

We look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions on the exposure draft, and to welcoming you to the public hearing meetings.

Thank you again for your support.

Thank you,

Best regards,

Eman Al-Shoala
, ,
Administrative Assistant
Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)
P.O.Box: 1176
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Phone: 973 17 244496
Fax: 973 17 250194

NOTE webmaster : just for some additional background, see amongst others:

IFSB, Capital adequacy requirements for sukuk securitizations and real estate investments, 2009 Guideline No 7, can be accessed  http://www.ifsb.org/standard/ifsb7.pdf

MIFC, Guidelines for Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts, 2005, can be accessed http://www.mifc.com/index.php?ch=menu_foc_ifm&pg=menu_foc_ifm_gui&ac=368

Hasroleffendy Hassan, Islamic Property Financing in Malaysia: Critical Appraisals and Practical Recommendations, 2011 International Conference on Sociality and Economics Development
IPEDR vol.10 (2011) - can be accessed http://www.ipedr.com/vol10/69-S10015.pdf

WORLD - FINANCE - Thomson Reuters Launches World's First Islamic Interbank Rate

Thomson Reuters works with leading Islamic finance institutions and banks to provide objective and dedicated benchmark for Shariah-compliant short-term interbank funding in Islamic finance industry

New York, London, Bahrain — Thomson Reuters today launched the world's first Islamic finance benchmark rate, designed to provide an objective and dedicated indicator for the average expected return on Shariah-compliant short-term interbank funding. The Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR), announced at the 18th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain, uses the contributed rates of 16 Islamic banks and the Islamic sections of conventional banks to provide a reliable and much-needed alternative for pricing Islamic instruments to the conventional interest-based benchmarks used for mainstream finance. (source)

WORLD - CAPITAL MARKETS - Third party guarantees for sukuk set to take off

One of the positive outcomes of the 36th annual board of governors meeting held in Jeddah last month was the approval by the Board of Directors of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credit and Investment (ICIEC), the standalone export credit and political risk insurance agency of the IDB Group, of the corporation's capital from the current $240 million to $640 million. (source)

TRADE FINANCE - Islamic trade finance sector to see expansion

Islamic trade finance has benefitted from shifting preferences towards Shariah-compliant banking and could serve as one of the key growth drivers to help the nearly $1 trillion Islamic finance industry double in size. 

The global Islamic finance industry, which has been growing between 15 to 20 per cent a year, is widely expected to reach $2 trillion in the next three to five years.

While Islamic banking and Islamic bonds, or sukuk, are expected to lead growth, bankers say Islamic trade finance could serve as the dark horse emerging to propel the industry further.

Trade finance, the lifeblood of global commerce, underpins 60-80 per cent of the $12-13 trillion trade in global merchandise and practitioners say it is safer than other forms of lending. (source)

TRADE FINANCE - Islamic trade finance seen lifting growth of sector

DUBAI, June 9 (Reuters) - Islamic trade finance has benefitted from shifting preferences towards Sharia-compliant banking and could serve as one of the key growth drivers to help the nearly $1 trillion Islamic finance industry double in size.\

The global Islamic finance industry, which has been growing between 15 to 20 percent a year, is widely expected to reach $2 trillion in the next three to five years. (source)

COUNTRY REVIEW - FRANCE - most prominent mover 2010

Most of you will know that I do follow up close what is happening in the greater European space in the field of Islamic finance.

I just made a short review about the most prominent mover over the year 2010.

France managed to adapt following tax regulations for the introduction of Islamic (finance) contracts : Murabahah, Ijara, Istisna and there were specific changes to allow Sukuk.

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.

OPINION - AAOIFI's Perestroika By Bernardo Vizcaino, CAIA

With increased calls for the Islamic finance industry to review (and reform) its governance framework, AAOIFI finds itself as a key participant of this process. A perestroika in the making.

The increased scrutiny revolves around the role of scholars and structure of Shariah Supervisory Boards. This includes issues pertaining to concentration of board seats in a handful of scholars, an individual holding seats in competing organizations (regardless of concentration), greater accessibility/understanding of the rationale behind rulings, as well as cultivating a wider pool of experienced professionals. While the debate has focused on the potential conflicts of interest, the next step would be to determine what mechanisms can be implemented to strengthen the overall system. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

REGULATIONS - AAOIFI - Shariah body issues 11 new standards

Dubai-based Shariah consultancy Minhaj Sharia’h Financial Advisory and Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOFI) have launched a set of 11 new Shariah standards that will help regional and global Islamic financial institutions tackle contemporary issues of banking, finance and investment.

CAPITAL MARKETS - Corporates should explore the Islamic finance route

Also see : here - older post.

While the first UK corporate sukuk, issued on behalf of International Innovative Technologies, may have been relatively small in terms of volume, it is hoped that its effect on the Islamic finance market in the UK will be significant.

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.

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.