UK sukuk, TID sukuk default

The UK Treasury plans to issue a sukuk appear to be back on the table again "A sovereign sukuk may form a part of our financing for the future, I am keen in principle to look to issue sovereign sukuk but conditions have to be right to do that," according to Business Minister Ian Pearson. The government had been expected to announce a GBP 2 billion ($3.03 billion) sukuk last year but plans were shelved due to challenging market conditions.

An article in the UK newspaper the Telegraph (with a fairly cynical view of Islamic finance) describes the default of the Investment Dar sukuk. I hope to take a more in depth look this weekend and post a summary either here or more likely on my blog at Zawya.com

A Time magazine article looks at the halal industry, including Islamic finance:

"Citing the kosher and organic industries as successful examples of doing well by doing good, some entrepreneurs even see halal products moving into the mainstream and appealing to consumers looking for high-quality, ethical products. A few firms that comply with the Shari'a code — the religious laws that observant Muslims follow — point out that already many of their customers are non-Muslim."