Monday, October 08, 2007

Last week's news

Apologies for the delay in posting since last week, but I have been furiously working on our 501(c)(3) application. I will hopefully resume regular blogging by later this week. --Blake



In response to the credit crunch, Dubai Ports World is planning an IPO to avoid the higher yield promised to the sukuk holders of the $3.5 billion convertible sukuk if a share floatation was cancelled. The sukuk was issued to fund the purchase of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation, a U.K. ports group.

Rs. 55 billion ($906 million) in direct investments, mostly from GCC investors has flowed to the Pakistani Islamic banking industry this year as of the end of September.

Sukuk continue to be issued at a furious pace.

GCC-Asian links in Islamic finance grow as the Central Bank of Bahrain licensed the Islamic Bank of Asia to open an office in the country. The Islamic Bank of Asia became the first Islamic bank to receive a license in Singapore earlier this year.

The International Finance Corporation, the private lending arm of the World Bank, will finance investors setting up Islamic banks in Kenya.

Islamic home financing takes another leap forward in the U.K.

Shari'ah Capital will work with the Dubai Multi Commondities Centre to develop Shari'ah-compliant investment products "based on hard assets such as commodities and precious metals".

A letter in the Financial Times last week addressed the potential for soverign wealth funds particularly in the GCC region to move their assets towards Islamic finance.

No comments: