Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Canadian Islamic mortgages, Standardization

At the Islamic Finance World North America conference organized in Canada on Islamic finance, participants discussed the requirements needed to fit Islamic financing, particularly home financing, into the regulatory environment of Canada which restricts financial institutions' holdings of real estate. Because Islamic home financing is less common in Canada than the U.S., the products are significantly more expensive in Canada where they are 100 to 300 basis points more expensive compared to 40 to 100 basis points higher in the U.S.

The Central Bank of Bahrain will issue standardized Islamic financial products by the end of this year.

Ernst & Young will launch the 1st annual "Islamic Funds & Investments Report" soon.

Dubai Islamic Investments Managing Director Marwan Al Khatib believes that the Malaysian government's active encouragement and participation in the development of the country's Islamic financial industry was important for its success.

Philippine Banco de Oro may be interested in bidding on Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Phillipines which the government is trying to privatize.

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