INDONESIA - BANKING - Indonesia to Allow Currency Hedging for Banks: Islamic Finance

www.thejakartaglobe.com - Indonesia will let Shariah-compliant banks hedge against exchange-rate movements to spur growth in Islamic financial assets and narrow the gap with Malaysia’s industry, which is seven times larger.    

Bank Indonesia, the National Shariah Board and the Indonesia Institute of Accountants have approved the instruments, available in Malaysia since 2006, Adiwarman Azwar Karim, Jakarta-based vice chairman of the board’s Islamic capital market working committee, said in an Aug. 3 interview. The central bank said it is working on regulations, declining to say when they would be finished.     (source)

INDONESIA - HAJI - HSBC offers haj pilgrimage banking services

JAKARTA: HSBC’s sharia division, Amanah Syariah, is teaming up with the global bank’s Saudi Arabia-based branch Saudi British Bank (SABB) to offer haj and umroh (minor haj) pilgrimage banking services for both individuals and travel bureaus. (source)

INDONESIA - OPINION - Bright prospect of Islamic banking

Currently, most of the giant international banks offer either an Islamic Commercial Bank (ICB) or an Islamic Business Unit (IBU). The question is, therefore, “How can national Islamic banking be developed?”

First of all, let us look at the infrastructure of Islamic banking during the last six years. A report titled “Islamic Banking Statistics April 2011”, which was issued by Bank Indonesia (BI) on June 15, 2011, found that ICB increased from only three banks with 304 offices in 2005 — when Islamic banking was born — to 11 banks with 1,215 offices by December 2010. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Distributes Donation Fund, HSBC Attract Duafa Wallet

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Indonesia Republika Dhuafa Wallet hook to channel donations of funds. Through a number of branch offices in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Medan, during Ramadan, a foreign bank is trying to give a donation through Ramadan box whose results will be distributed at the institute amil zakat.

HSBC Indonesia CEO, Michael Young, said Ramadan is a perfect moment to share. "We hope this spirit can be passed on employees, customers and the younger generation," he said on the activities of the HSBC Share Happiness. Besides Wallet Dhuafa, HSBC also hook a number of other charities, such as Zakat and Heading Home Care Keadian Ummat (PKPU). In the group, HSBC also channel donations through the HSBC Foundation. (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - HSBC Bank Malaysia to open more Islamic branches

KUALA LUMPUR: HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, the country's largest foreign lender, plans to open six more branches, mostly Islamic, before the year-end.

 

"I think we'll probably have another six or so, and they'll be largely Islamic branches. All of it is subject to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)'s approval," Jon Addis, the bank's executive director and deputy chief executive officer, told repor-ters when asked about its branch expansion plans at an HSBC event here yesterday. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - HSBC Amanah Focuses on Asset Increase

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Sharia The Hongkong Shanghai Bank Corp (HSBC) Indonesia, HSBC Amanah, focus its activities in 2011 to improve the asset. Head of HSBC Amanah, Herwin Bustaman, said that since the double tax on the commodity murabaha 2010 and then abolished, HSBC Amanah find the confidence to release new products to spur growth. (source)

MICRO FINANCE - HSBC allocates Rp 18.5b for microfinance

JAKARTA: HSBC’S sharia division, Amanah Syariah, will allocate Rp 18.5 billion (US$2.12 million) in sharia-based credits to small- and medium-scale enterprises this year through state financing and investment firm PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) under a profit-sharing (mudharaba) agreement.

PNM director of finance and operation Lintang Nugroho said after the signing of the one-year agreement in Jakarta on Wednesday that PNM would channel the credits to SMEs through its sharia-based microfinance service branches.(full story)

BANKING - MURABAHA FACILITY - HSBC Amanah Arranged USD 33 Million Murabaha Financing Facility for Krakatau Steel

Original message : http://islamicfinanceindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/09/islamic-trade-finance-murabaha.html#more - Sept 5, 2010

**Being the first bilateral financing for HSBC Amanah after amendment of VAT law in Murabaha** **Providing funds to finance the purchasing of Krakatau Steel’s raw material**

SINGAPORE - Singapore to Draw Islamic Investments With Sabana, HSBC Says

Singapore will attract more Islamic investments from the Middle East following the share sale of Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial REIT, the world’s largest Islamic property trust, HSBC Holdings Plc said.

Sabana raised as much as S$664.4 million ($503 million) in the sale. The 458 million shares offered, which exclude reserved stock or those for key investors, were 2.5 times subscribed, the trust said in a statement yesterday. The shares for retail investors drew 12 times more demand, said Rafe Haneef, managing director of global markets for HSBC Amanah, the Shariah-compliant unit of Europe’s largest bank.

ISLAMIC TRADE FINANCE - HSBC Amanah arranged $33 million Murabaha for Krakatau Steel

The Murabaha financing (cost plus financing) facility for PT Krakatau Steel, the Indonesian state owned company and the largest integrated steel manufacturer in Indonesia, is solely funded by HSBC has been designed to finance Krakatau Steel’s raw material purchasing.