MALAYSIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Bursa Malaysia losing its glitter

www.thesundaily.com - PETALING JAYA (June 25, 2012): Once considered the third-largest market in Asia after Tokyo and Hong Kong during the 1990s, Bursa Malaysia now needs to do more or risk falling further behind its competitors, analysts warned.
They said it's not enough to pay lip service to the goal of developing Bursa Malaysia into an attractive and competitive exchange in the region, but not act on it.
"In the early 1990s, Bursa Malaysia (then known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) used to be on par with Singapore's stock exchange (in terms of vibrancy). Back then, volume in the Singapore stock market was very much dependent on Malaysia when investors in Singapore were allowed to trade Malaysian shares on the CLOB (Central Limit Order Book system) market," said an analyst.  (source)

INDONESIA - INVESTMENT FUNDS - Real Estate Investment Trusts Target Indonesia Five Years After Rules

www.thejakartaglobe.com - Al-’Aqar Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust, Malaysia’s oldest Islamic REIT, is considering opening a trust in Indonesia as the nation reviews its first application five years after legalizing such property companies.

Kuala Lumpur-based Al-’Aqar, which already owns two hospitals in Indonesia, would look at registering a trust in the Southeast Asian country provided it gets tax incentives and clearer rules on foreigners owning land are implemented, Executive Director Yusaini Sidek said by e-mail yesterday.  (source)

MALAYSIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Yuan-denominated sukuk by Khazanah

PETALING JAYA: Khazanah Nasional Bhd has issued its first offshore yuan-denominated sukuk of 500 million yuan (RM246mil) via Danga Capital Bhd, a Malaysian-incorporated special purpose vehicle.

The three-year benchmark sukuk was priced through a book-building process on Oct 13 and at the tightest end of the price guidance at 2.90%, the company said in a statement.  (source)

MALAYSIA - Potential in Islamic REIT

DH Flinders Ltd, a specialist Asia-Pacific corporate advisory practice that focuses on real estate, financial services and small capital sectors, sees good investment opportunities in Islamic real estate investment trust (REIT) in Malaysia.

Executive director Stephen Hawkins says Malaysia already has a good start in terms of Islamic REIT awareness, having established the guidelines for this type of investment. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - IDB lists Islamic bonds on Bursa Malaysia

THE Islamic Development Bank (IDB) yesterday listed US$3.5 billion ($4.6 billion) of Islamic bonds on the Malaysian stock exchange, with US$500 million accorded the emas status by the bourse, CIMB Islamic, an adviser to the listing exercise, said.

In a statement, CIMB Islamic said the move made IDB the first multilateral development bank to list its foreign currency sukuk programme on Bursa Malaysia.

FINANCIAL MARKETS - Muslim Nations Plan Stock Index Next Year to Spur Trade: Islamic Finance - Turkey to coordinate

Huseyin Erkan, chairman and chief executive officer of Istanbul Stock Exchange. 

Photographer: Jamie Rector/Bloomberg

SUKUK - Sukuk Developments: Hybrid Structures and Malaysian Expansion

Qatar’s $3.5 billion conventional bond issue may be the season’s most noteworthy Islamic finance deal. Malaysia, issuer of 75% of the world’s sukuk, has flexed even more muscle as it branches into the nascent Islamic finance market of neighboring Singapore. Anecdotally, these offerings are noteworthy; collectively, they may help ameliorate some high-profile setbacks for the industry.  The world sukuk market seems to have regained its footing. Thomson Reuters data show that global issuance from 2007-2009 dipped from $46.2 billion in 2007, to $39.6 billion in 2008, and back up to $46.3 billion in 2009. For the 12 months ending May 2010, sukuk issuance stands at $45.1 billion, with the summer’s major sukuk not yet included. 

ISLAMIC TRADING PLATFORM - Trade push reshaping Islamic finance’s regional rivalry

MANAMA, Aug 19 — Arshad Khan, the chief of the Bahrain Financial Exchange, had envisaged a global Islamic trading platform when he set out to work with Malaysia’s stock exchange this year.

Though the talks fell through, Khan thinks there may be other partnerships in the future, reflecting a desire to collaborate that could help close an age-old divide between the two regions which has impeded the growth of Islamic finance.  “The agreement (with Malaysia’s stock exchange) is still there and we’re still exchanging information,” Khan said. “We can still create synergies later on.”

Split by an age-old rivalry stemming from the fight for market share and differences in sharia interpretation, Islamic banking hubs Malaysia and the Middle East have struggled to work together in the past, resulting in fragmented standards and localised markets which have divided the industry.

SUKUK - IDB to list US$3.5bil sukuk bonds in KL and London

KUALA LUMPUR: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will dual list US$3.5bil of its sukuk bonds in Kuala Lumpur and London by the year-end.

Of this amount, US$1.1bil has already been issued to investors. About US$1bil will be issued by year end, in tranches of five, seven and 10 years.

Finance vice president Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Hinai said one of IDB’s responsibilities was to help members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference grow and develop.