Islamic securitization, other news

A lawyer from Patton Boggs has an article in Islamic Finance News about the requirements for Shari'ah-compliant securitization to develop in the Middle East. Securitization markets across the world have been restricted following the credit crisis, but the securitization if done in a Shari'ah-compliant way would allow Islamic banks to increase the diversification of their assets and would free up capital for additional financing.

Other News

• The Islamic Development Bank's $1.5 billion sukuk program and the first issue of $850 million in sukuk received a AAA rating from Fitch's and Standard & Poor's and a Aaa rating from Moody's Investor Services.
  
• Malaysian ports operator Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepaas plans to raise MYR1.5 billion ($441 million) from sukuk issues with a maturity of up to 10 years.
  
• Standard & Poor's will be responsible for maintaining and calculating the National Bank of Abu Dhabi's NBAD UAE Listed Islamic Index.
  
• The fate of Islamic mortgage firms Amlak and Tamweel continues to be discussed as a UAE state panel oversees their restructuring.
  
• Swiss Re received approval to launch a retakaful unit in Malaysia. The takaful industry has been growing, but there is a shortage of retakaful firms forcing many takaful providers to use conventional reinsurance.
  
• France sees Islamic finance as a potential way to deal with the credit crunch, although Islamic finance is not immune from similar crises that began in the U.S. in 2007.