WORLD - BANKING - Shariah ‘megabank plan’ seeks to raise $1bn capital

www.gulf-times.com - The Islamic Development Bank is seeking partners to bring investment in a Shariah-compliant megabank to more than $1bn before the opening this year, allowing it to finance larger construction projects.
The financial institution, to be established with Riyadh-based Dallah Albaraka Group and the Qatari government, will issue securities that Islamic lenders can buy to manage excess funds, IDB president Ahmad Mohamed Ali said in a May 10 interview in Kuala Lumpur. The three parties signed a memorandum of understanding in April to set up the bank in Doha, Qatar, to fund roads, ports and power plants.
“An Islamic megabank will be a significant development,” Afaq Khan, Dubai-based chief executive officer of Standard Chartered’s Islamic unit, said in a telephone interview on Monday. “Such a bank would have the balance sheet, the capital and the underwriting capabilities to undertake significant projects of size.” (source)

WORLD - OPINION - Mega bank, stock exchanges and trading platforms

www.btimes.com.my - ISSUES TO CONSIDER: An open letter to Islamic Development Bank president Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali
DEAR Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group;

Asalaam Alaikum,

The Islamic finance world welcomes your comments on the Mega Islamic Bank with much excitement and great sense of anticipation.

“…The ‘Mega Islamic Bank’ comes as an initiative of the Islamic Development Bank in its efforts to address the dearth of senior financiers, the absence of the Islamic tools of stock exchange and the absence of market liquidity between Islamic banks.”

Dr Ali, the Islamic mega bank, working with IDB and industry stakeholders, needs to also include stock exchanges and trading platforms, both Islamic and OIC, as part of the conversation. (source)

INDONESIA - EVENTS - High level conference : Malaysia to Award Islamic ‘Mega-Bank’ License in Third Quarter

Malaysia will issue a license for an Islamic “mega bank” in the third quarter of this year to help mobilize funds for businesses around the world, the country’s central bank governor said.

The Southeast Asian nation will also start a cross-border clearance platform for Shariah-compliant bonds, or sukuk, around the same time, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said in an interview in Jakarta yesterday. The initiatives are part of a plan to help fill gaps in the $1 trillion global Islamic finance industry. (source)

BANKING - Plan To Issue Mega Islamic Bank Licences Still In Progress

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) plan to issue up to two mega Islamic bank licences is still on progress, says its deputy governor, Datuk Mohd Razif Abdul Kadir.

"The plan is still in progress. We need to find the right investors," he said, when asked on progress of the plan to issue mega Islamic bank licences. (full story)

BANKING - MEGA BANK - Malaysia's central bank still reviewing Islamic mega bank bids

Malaysia's central bank said on Wednesday it was still reviewing offers to set up mega Islamic banks, suggesting it could miss its target of awarding a licence this year as the industry struggles to create a well-capitalised sharia lender.

Bank Negara Malaysia is offering up to two new Islamic banking licences to foreign firms to set up banks with at least $1 billion of paid-up capital, a move that the industry hopes will spur more lending and create bigger Islamic banks that can compete with global lenders.

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Abundant opportunities in 2011

ALL Islamic finance sub-sectors are expected to continue strong growth next year, riding on the economic momentum driven by the government's medium- and long-term economic plans.

CIMB Islamic chief executive officer (CEO) Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the outlook for the global and local Islamic finance is bright.

He said globally, the industry is expected to benefit from the strong economic recovery in Asia, which is where Islamic finance is based and centred.

BANKING - Islamic finance can make its mark globally

Chairman: Indonesia should be involved in mega project

KUALA LUMPUR: With Malaysia being the centre of Islamic finance in the world, the formation of a mega Islamic bank is an opportunity for Malaysia to make its mark globally.

Indonesia should also be involved in the formation of this mega Islamic bank in Malaysia, as there cannot be a mega Islamic bank without involving a mega Islamic country,” said Indonesian Islamic Banking Association (ASBISINDO) chairman and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd independent non-executive director Dr A. Riawan Amin.


On Tuesday, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said that Bank Negara would announce one mega bank this year, under its plan to issue up to two mega Islamic banking licenses.

Dr A. Riawan Amin ... ‘In time, the world will embrace the values of Islamic finance as the norm.’

BANKING - Asia, Middle East Institutions to Create ‘Mega’ Islamic Bank

By Soraya Permatasari and Haslinda Amin

 

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia, the world’s biggest market for Islamic bonds, will issue a license before the end of this year to a new Islamic bank that will be jointly established by institutions from Asia and the Middle East, central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.

BANKING - 'Mega-Islamic bank' licence by 2011

Malaysia is expected to issue one “mega-Islamic bank” license by the end of the year, central bank Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today. -- Bloomberg