Islamic Bond market forecast to ride “rough patch”
On April 15, 2010 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Kuwait, Shariah Bonds, SUKUK
FT’s Robin Wigglesworth continues to exhibit a lack of curiosity when it comes to Shariah finance… http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sid20100414_8473_283
Though The Economist continues to actively ignore many of the fundamental concerns surrounding Shariah-Compliant Finance, the article linked below about the Sukuk market is actually fairly well done, especially when one considers that The Economist has basically been nothing but a shameless cheerleader for Shariah Finance heretofore… The article points out many of the problems [...]
Linked below is an article written in a journal of the Wharton school of business at the University of Pennsylvania. It appears to address an issue which is indeed a huge problem in Shariah-Compliant Finance: Lack of Transparency. But appearances can be deceiving. What the Wharton article, which has no author’s name associated with it, [...]
Another UAE Sukuk Issuer Looks to “Restructure”
On March 31, 2010 · In Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Economic Crisis, Islamic Bonds, Shariah Bonds, SUKUK
Over the past two years, there have been numerous defaults on Islamic bonds (better known as Sukuk). In fact, default rates on Sukuk are apparently higher than those of conventional bonds. This is likely due to the higher fees associated with Sukuk which are arrived at from a series of convoluted machinations designed to keep [...]
Dow Jones has been shilling for Shariah-Compliant Finance for some time now. After all, the Dow Jones Islamic Index employed the Jihadist Shariah scholar Taqi Usmani as chair of its Shariah advisory board for a long time before rival Investors Business Daily exposed them. Now the flagship Wall Street Journal has published a piece on [...]
Sales of bonds that comply with Islamic laws will remain “weaker” this year as investors shun riskier, higher-yielding assets on concern governments will struggle to repay debt. Sales of the bonds known as sukuk have totalled $564 million so far this year, compared with $2.5 billion for the first quarter last year, according to data [...]
Standard & Poors Predicts Steady Growth in Islamic Bond Market
On February 1, 2010 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Islamic Bonds, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Standard & Poor's, SUKUK
In a report published last week, Standard & Poors predicted steady growth in Islamic bond issuance in 2010, with about $20 billion of Sukuk publicly announced in the past likely to come to market if conditions permit. “In addition, we understand from unofficial market sources that about $10 billion more could potentially enter the pipeline. [...]
Moody’s Downgrades ANOTHER Sukuk Issuer
On February 1, 2010 · In Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Moody's, Moody's Investor Service, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK, UAE
Last week reported that Moody’s Investor Services had downgraded a Kuwaiti firm that had issued Sukuk (Islamic Bonds). http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2010/01/27/another-sukuk-issuer-in-deep-trouble/ This weekend we were greeted with the news that Moody’s had downgraded yet another Sukuk issuer, this time a real estate development firm out of Abu Dhabi. If this is a harbinger of things to come, [...]
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the Corporate Family (CFR) and Probability of Default Ratings (PDR) of Kuwait-based National Industries Group Holding S.A.K. (NIG) and the debt ratings on the USD 475 million sukuk issued by NIG Sukuk Limited to B1 from Ba3. These sukuk are basically “junk Islamic bonds.” So much for the idea that [...]
As we reported not long ago, one of the oldest banks in Kuwait, BKME, will soon complete the conversion process from legitimate, civilized finance to Shariah Compliance. Now we learn that in justifying this move, they are making claims about the durability of Shariah-Compliant financial institutions in the face of economic crisis: “Islamic banking is [...]
The total debt of cash-strapped Dubai could be as much as 170 billion dollars, much higher than earlier reported, according to a report by EFG-Hermes regional investment bank. This could result in a default from real estate property firm Nakheel on $4.1 billion in sukuk (Islamic bonds). http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/19012010/323/photo/property-giant-nakheel-default-4-1-billion-dollars-islamic-bonds.html? http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iD24lBQsNXlQXMjk51XSkF3WTdtA
Qatar Islamic Bank, the Gulf state’s second largest lender by market value, saw fourth-quarter net profit drop 23 percent on Monday, falling shy of analysts expectations. Not long ago, Qatar Islamic Bank revealed that it had an exposure in the Dubai default debacle. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE60H14K20100118?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=hotStocksNews&rpc=401 This is but the latest in a series of disappointing reports [...]
Moody’s Downgrades Qatar Real Estate Sukuk Issuer
On January 15, 2010 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Moody's, Moody's Investor Service, Qatar, Shariah Bonds, SUKUK
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Qatar Real Estate Investment Company, which has issued $300 million in Sukuk (Islamic Bonds) from A2 to Baa1. Moody’s also issued an advisory for possible additional downgrading in the future. The move was prompted by the announcement that Qatar Real Estate Investment Company would become a wholly owned subsidiary Barwa [...]
Dubai Debts Prompt Review of Shariah Finance
On January 14, 2010 · In Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Economic Crisis, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
SFW has long maintained–and pointed out–that Shariah-Compliant Finance is in now way immune to market and economic forces and thus cannot provide a safe haven in the event of economic or financial crisis. We point this out because so many financial jihadists routinely commit fraud by claiming that Shariah Finance is protected by the principles [...]
In the civilized world, this would be referred to as a “default.” But in the world of Shariah, it’s simply called a “standstill.” Creditors have little choice but to go along with the swindle that Dubai has perpetrated on them. Sooner or later, maybe Western financiers will discover that all of the added but often [...]
Money Fleeing Malaysia
On January 12, 2010 · In Defaults, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
Here on Shariah Finance Watch we have documented that Malaysia is ground zero in the Pacific Rim for Shariah Finance: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/category/malaysia/ Almost all of the financial news out of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur over the past year has been centered around “Islamic” finance and banking. The country’s prime minister and other cabinet members [...]
A few years ago, Dubai World floated an Islamic bond (Sukuk) to acquire the British port company P&O. The results of that acquisition and the methodology became part of the subsequent default and bailout of Dubai World’s sukuk portfolio. What the article linked below alludes to without coming right out and saying it, is the [...]
10 Sukuk Defaults at Year-End 2009
On January 4, 2010 · In Defaults, Derivatives, Economic Crisis, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Pakistan, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK, Takaful
While it has received virtually zero coverage in the Western financial media, by researching Islamic blogs, we have come across a very interesting piece of information: there were 10 sukuk (Islamic bond) defaults at the end of 2009. We all know about the Dubai sukuk default, but there were evidently several others, including one involving [...]
Dubai in retrospect: Don’t Blame Shariah!
On January 4, 2010 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Economic Crisis, Investment Scams, Investment Swindles, Islamic Bonds, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, SUKUK
The Dubai World default on sukuk, also known as “Islamic bonds,” was centered on financial products which were approved by Shariah scholars. Making investments Shariah-Compliant was supposed to protect investors from crisis and calamity. We heard and read such claims from financial jihadists over and over again after the Subprime collapse. But Shariah-Compliance not only [...]
Shariah finance: The deadly Jihadist weapon with a dollar sign
On December 31, 2009 · In Abul-Ala Mawdudi, AIG, Center for Security Policy, Citigroup, Creeping Shariah, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Heros against Shariah, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic charities, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Islamization, Jihad, Markets and Trends, Muslim Brotherhood, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Sovereign Wealth Funds, stealth jihad, SUKUK, Takaful, Terror Funding, Zakat
It is highly appropriate that SFW end 2009 by sharing the latest work from one of the true heroes of the Western world in the fight against Shariah: David Yerushalmi. Mr. Yerushalmi’s essay in the Washington Examiner provides both a primer for those unfamiliar with the issue of Shariah Finance, as well as an update [...]
BBC: Islamic Finance is a Dishonest Business Run by Dishonest People
On December 16, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", AAOIFI, Britain, Creeping Shariah, Defaults, Dubai, HSBC, Investment Scams, Investment Swindles, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance, Shariah Mortgage, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Usmani
The BBC has published an article by Mr. John Foster, who used to be editor of “Islamic Business & Finance” magazine. The topic of the article is described by its title: “How Sharia-Compliant is Islamic Banking?” But it is not really the topic which makes the article interesting. It is the details which make it [...]
Dubai’s golden sands lose their luster
On December 12, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Investment Scams, Investment Swindles, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Jurisprudence, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Courts, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, SUKUK, UAE
“Investors trapped by the financial storm in the United Arab Emirates are in unknown legal territory as they try to protect their billions.” (The Times, 10 December 2009) The Dubai default debacle demonstrates in stark detail how the lack of transparency and failure to disclose relevant facts make Shariah Finance risky. Long ago–decades ago–the rest [...]
A Shameless, Shallow Advertorial for Shariah Finance from Oxford Analytica and Forbes.com
On December 12, 2009 · In Abu Dhabi, Credit Dirivatives, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Derivatives, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Financial Institution, Hezbollah, HSBC, Investments, Iran, Islam, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qaradawi, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Shariah Law, SUKUK, Takaful, Taliban, Usmani
Malcom Forbes must be spinning in his grave. His namesake publication’s web site has published an article which basically promotes a financial and economic system which by its very nature seeks to replace capitalism and our free enterprise system: http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/10/islamic-finance-after-dubai-business-oxford-analytica-islamic-finance.html?feed=rss_business In fact, the article reads less like journalism and more like a press release from [...]
Shariah finance suffers growing pains
On December 10, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Economic Crisis, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance, SUKUK, Tawarruq, Usmani
The Financial Times actually wrote a fairly balanced story on Shariah finance for a change. In the story linked below, FT’s journalist points out that Shariah-compliant financial institutions have proven just as vulnerable to the economic downturn and financial crisis as conventional counterparts. This, of course, flies right in the face of the propaganda being [...]
Law firms navigate foggy Dubai regulation as UK awaits asset sale
On December 8, 2009 · In Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Courts, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, SUKUK, United Kingdom
It seems there isn’t anything in Shariah to cover the restructuring of Dubai World’s debts and assets. This has British lawyers scrambling. Why is this a surprise? It would seem that the lawyers should have done proper due diligence on this matter BEFORE something like this occurred. But, then again, NO ONE in the West [...]
The Contagion Spreads: Qatar Islamic Bank has $15 mln exposure to Dubai World
On December 3, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Qatar, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance
Qatar Islamic Bank has announced that it faces exposure in the evolving debacle emanating from Dubai. This is particularly bad news for this institution since, back in March, it was in serious enough trouble to have been bailed out by the regime in Qatar: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2009/03/10/qatar-to-prop-up-its-banking-system/ $15 million doesn’t seem like a great deal of exposure, [...]
Dubai Sheikh Calls International Investors A Bunch Of Suckers
On December 2, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
After bilking international investors out of billions of dollars, Mohammed al-Maktoum blames the investors for Dubai’s financial troubles! In a way he is right. Many Western investors have been suckered in by Shariah Finance… http://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-sheikh-calls-international-investors-a-suckers-2009-12
Shariah Standing in the Way of Creditors Getting Paid in Dubai
On December 2, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, SUKUK
Wealthy investors flocked to the “miracle” of Dubai in recent years. Some invested in Islamic bonds, better known as Sukuk. Sukuk are investments concocted to comply with Shariah law (though there is some debate even about that). Now, the very Shariah law under which Sukuk were designed could end up swindling creditors out of a [...]
Dubai in meltdown
On November 27, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Sovereign Wealth Funds, SUKUK, UAE
The bubble has burst in Dubai and the affliction is spreading to Western financial markets. Yesterday, US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but other markets were open and shuddered: http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE5AN54C20091126?feedType=nl&feedName=usdai When reading the article linked just above, you may recognize the name “DP World.” This was the company that was scheming to take [...]
TIMELINE-Defaults: Islamic finance in uncharted territory
On November 6, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Economic Crisis, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Finance, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance
The dirty underside of Shariah-Compliant Finance… http://www.reuters.com/article/bankruptcyNews/idUSKLR44503820091105?rpc=401
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