This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
gif News


Isda Launches New Islamic Derivatives It has been reported that the company Isda, in conjunction with the International Islamic Financial Market, announced the creation of the Mubadalatul Arbaah, or profit rate swap, product standard to be used for Islamic hedging purposes. The Mubadalatul Arbaah derivative allows for bilateral exchange of profit streams from fixed rate to floating rate or vice versa. The documentation agreement was approved by the IIFM’s Shariah advisory panel in co- ordination with Clifford Chance and market participants globally.


Islamic finance has seen some significant developments in recent months aimed at capitalising on international demand for Shariah-compliant products, including the launch of an Islamic interbank benchmark rate in November last year.


Sixteen local banks launched the Islamic in- terbank benchmark rate in partnership with data vendor Thomson Reuters, creating the first standardised interbank lending rate in the Middle East. The Mubadalatul Arbaah standard follows a similar product standard launched by Isda and the IIFM in 2010. The Tahawwut Master Agreement, a derivative product standard designed for the manage- ment of cash flow, allowed for the hedging of risk for various Islamic capital market instru- ments such as the Shariah compliant Sukuk bonds.


Robert Pickel, Isda chief executive, said: “Isda is pleased to continue its partnership with the IIFM as part of its own ongoing ef- forts and commitment to building safe and efficient OTC hedging markets, across both global and Islamic financial markets.


Islamic Development Bank Lending a Help- ing Hand The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has donated a generous amount of $100,000 for the victims of Tropical Storm Sendong in select areas of Cagayan de Oro and Ili- gan cities. IDB representatives Mohamed Amer El- Sayed IDB and Abdo Mohammed Al-Taki, along with their local partner, the Tamparan Medical Foundation from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) head- ed by its president Dr. Potri Disommimba-Ali, personally distributed on Monday kits con- taining school supplies, shoes, uniforms and bags to 500 elementary students in Baran- gay Balulang, Cagayan de Oro.


Infant needs such as one-month supply of milk, infant dress and vitamins were also distributed to lactating mothers in the area. Over the weekend, the group also distribut- ed relief goods to flood victims in Barangays Hinaplanon and Mandulog in Iligan City. Ali said they chose the barangays based on the


10 Global Islamic Finance April 2012


extent of damage and the status of their Muslim brothers and sisters. Moneerah In- tegrated School in Merila Ubaldo Laya Iligan, which is being funded by IDB in 2009 and was greatly affected by Tropical Storm Sen- dong, were also provided with Information Technology (IT) equipment and electrical supply amounting to $40,000. The gadgets include one 50 KVA transformers with com- plete accessories, one 20 KVA silent gen- erator, 15 computer desktops (Intel Core i7), five Sony Vaio laptops, five L200 all-in-one printer, three Epson printers, one 55-inch TV Mini theatre, one complete sound system, one wireless N-link and one area DLP pro- jector.


During the formal turnover on Sunday, an IT specialist immediately installed the gadg- ets for immediate use of the students. The goods and IT gadgets were bought locally, providing income to local investors. Al-Taki, who represented IDB as relief officer, said the distribution is just their initial activity.


“Our institution has approved $15 million for the Philippines to help in alleviating pov- erty of our Muslim brothers here even if this country is not a member of IDB,” Al-Taki said. Al-Taki, who personally witnessed the condi- tion of his brothers and sisters, said there is a need to focus on development, not just giv- ing immediate relief aids. “Our humanitar- ian activities should lead to better future in terms of development in which our mission is to provide long-term social reform, devel- opment and prosperity,” he said.


The IDB project, implemented through its lo- cal partner, will also provide scholarship to deserving students and other development programs to the less fortunate Muslim broth- ers. For her part, Ali said the Philippines is very fortunate to have collaborated with IDB.


The IDB is a multilateral development fi- nancing institution located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, founded by the first conference of Finance Ministers of Organizations of the Islamic Conference, now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with 57 shareholder member countries. Over the years, the IDB has evolved into a group of five entities, con- sisting of Islamic Development Bank, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Cor- poration for Development of Private Sector, Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Invest- ment and Export Credit and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation


Islamic Finance Workshop to be Held in Zambia The Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) is still waiting for the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to call for a meeting to explain the terms of reference before the Islamic Bank can be introduced in Zambia.


The process and framework, being spear- headed by the central bank as regulators has already been developed.BAZ president Mizinga Melu said the Bank of Zambia would soon call for a workshop that would explain the terms and other references of Islamic banking. “The Bank of Zambia as regulators, will be calling for a workshop soon for us to be on the same page as long as the regula- tor is ready. Whenever you are introducing a new product it is important that we are on the same page and put in place a frame- work,” Ms Melu said.


“Most commercial banks are going to start and as Standard Chartered Bank, we are very ready to introduce Islamic banking but we are still waiting for the regulators to call for a workshop,” she said. There is a huge market for Islamic banking in Zambia and Africa has lagged behind. Islamic banking is a system which offers interest-free loans to individuals and the business community. The system is a financial service that meets the requirement of Sharia or Islamic law. It is designed to meet specific religious require- ments of Muslims and there is no interest charged.


Recently, BoZ said the establishment of Is- lamic banking services would help people have access to money for capital investment without paying interest. BoZ challenged in- vestors that it was ready for them to come into Zambia and set up Islamic banks. The central bank recently undertook a survey on the Zambian market, which revealed that 80 per cent of respondents were keen on the introduction of Islamic banking products in the near future.


Bank Muscat assigns RO150m for Islamic banking window Bank Muscat, the flagship financial insti- tution in the Sultanate of Oman, has as- signed RO 150 million of capital for its pro- posed Meethaq Islamic banking window. The final allocation will be determined by business opportunities in the market and the Board has indicated that the assigned amount may increase if required. The capital allocation will be subject to necessary regu- latory approvals.


Shaikh Khalid bin Mustahail al Mashani, Chairman of BankMuscat, said: “BankMus- cat is proud to be the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman. The bank is ready to launch its Islamic banking platform and has made headway by announcing a 3-member Shariah board and developing its Meethaq brand. This decision to assign RO 150 mil- lion capital for Meethaq reflects the determi- nation of the bank to be the market leader of Islamic banking in Oman.”


The Chairman added: “BankMuscat has taken major strides as part of its proposed


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88