AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - Property fund looks up downunder

Australia ’s leading Islamic finance house, MCCA, has just revealed financial results for the MCCA Income Fund – the country’s first Shari’ah compliant investment fund registered with ASIC – which achieved a return of 5.31% for the year.
Dr. Akhtar Kalam, chairman of MCCA, said: “The professionally managed fund established in 2009 will soon surpass A$15m ($15.3m) and invests mainly in residential mortgage investments in Victoria (49%) and New South Wales (46%).  (source)

AUSTRALIA - BANKING - First Islamic bank for Australia

It’s every Islamic home financing company’s dream to become an Islamic bank, but it is not necessarily the dream of every community cooperative.

However, that is just what is about to happen to Australia’s MCCA as the building blocks are put in place to see the launch of Australia’s first Islamic retail bank catering to the needs of the domestic population – both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. (source)

AUSTRALIA - TAX - A Super IF opportunity: Shari'ah-based superannuation is there for the taking

Australia unveiled its new annual budget amidst a soaring currency and rising prices. Of significance to the Islamic finance market is the submission of the final report that recently went to the Board of Taxation to help create the IF an equal footing, tax wise, with conventional banking, creating an infrastructure that does not penalise in any way Shari'ah-compliant institutions or products.  (source)