Malaysian Islamic reinsurer MNRB Retakaful forecasts that revenue from its overseas operations will exceed that of domestic operations in five years. It particularly has its sights set on Indonesia, Brunei, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Spreading Shariah insurance to these countries is perhaps not as much of a concern since each is already predominantly Islamic, but one [...]
I for one am glad I don’t own a “piece of the rock.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6509447/Prudential-starts-Sharia-compliant-fund-management-business.html?
The fast-growing Islamic financial sector needs strong regulation to ensure it never faces the damage suffered by the global system as a result of the financial crisis, Malaysia’s prime minister said yesterday. Najib Razak, whose government oversees one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive Islamic financial sectors, said it was “imperative for the industry [...]
Shariah Finance industry holds award dinner
On November 3, 2009 · In Bahrain, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Equity Funds, Islamic Finance, Islamic Index, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, murabaha, MURAHABA, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Shariah Mortgage, SUKUK, Takaful
Though it is not the main theme of the article linked below, a major awards dinner was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday night and we thought the listing of recipients was interesting in that it provides insight into the major players working to promote Shariah through its financial arm. It is always also [...]
Turkey’s Asya Bank Seeks Malaysia’s Cooperation In Islamic Finance
On November 2, 2009 · In Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance, Malaysia, Shariah Banking, Shariah Finance, Turkey
One of Turkey’s biggest financial institutions, the Asya Bank, has indicated an interest in forging cooperation with Islamic banks in Malaysia, namely Maybank Bhd and CIMB Bank. The aim is to establish an Islamic Bank in Turkey. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=451642
The Fall of Hong Kong, 2009
On October 23, 2009 · In China, Hong Kong, Islamic Finance, Islamization, Malaysia, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Finance
Hong Kong will sign a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia at the end of the month to pave the way for Islamic financial business, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=2&art_id=89604&sid=25808987&con_type=1&d_str=20091023&fc=8
A week ago, we reported that a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the ruler of Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, was vacating its stake in Malaysian Islamic Bank. http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2009/10/01/a-developing-story-worth-watching-dubai-firm-rethinks-stake-in-malaysias-bank-islam/ Now, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund has stepped in to inject capital into the troubled bank… “Malaysia’s state-run pilgrim fund will double its stake in Bank Islam to [...]
An investment company controlled by Dubai’s ruler says it is rethinking its stake in a Malaysian Islamic bank. Dubai Group paid what at the time was $282 million for a 40 percent stake in the bank in 2006. The Dubai firm says it is redirecting its resources “closer to home” in the Middle East. SFW [...]
Nomura, Japan’s largest brokerage house, looks to Shariah
On August 20, 2009 · In Creeping Shariah, Islamic Finance, Islamization, Japan, Malaysia, Shariah Finance
Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest brokerage, plans to step up efforts to tap demand for investing in Shariah-Compliant products, first in Malaysia and then into the Middle East… http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2020782&Language=en
Islamic finance industry thriving in Malaysia
On August 10, 2009 · In Creeping Shariah, Islam, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Islamization, Malaysia, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, stealth jihad
SFW has devoted a great deal of attention to Malaysia as of late because there has been a barrage of news related to Shariah-Compliant Finance there. It does appear that Shariah-Compliant Finance is growing by leaps and bounds in Malaysia and the growth of Shariah-Compliant Finance anywhere is absolutely nothing to celebrate. Wider Shariah-Compliant Finance [...]
With the Help of HSBC and Citibank, Shariah-Compliant Finance is Spreading in the Orient
On August 10, 2009 · In Citigroup, Creeping Shariah, Financial Institution, HSBC, Indonesia, Indonesia Sharia Banking, Islam, Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance, Islamization, Malaysia, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Finance, Singapore
Banking giants HSBC and Citibank, already infamous for contributing to the spread of Shariah in the West, are now fast at work aiding the spread of Shariah in Malaysia and other key markets in Asia and the Pacific Rim. Keep this in mind when you select banks to do business with. HSBC and Citibank are [...]
Linked below is an interview which we found on another Malaysian news web site. We believe it is significant in that it contains an admission that the goal of Shariah-Compliant Finance is global, to link emerging markets and other markets with Shariah as the medium. This is another way of saying that the purpose of [...]
Malaysia is fast becoming ground zero in Asia for the Islamic finance tsunami. They have elevated Shariah Finance to the level of a Jihad… http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=431267
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia is in a great position to share with the world its uniqueness of being a comprehensive Islam nation. It is significant to note that the criteria that the prime minister cites are dominated by financial characteristics: “Malaysia has many good examples to share with the world; [...]
Malaysia’s Securities Commission has launched a book series on the Islamic capital market which will form the basic module for the Islamic Capital Market Graduate Training Scheme. Written by industry experts and scholars, the book series is aimed at providing an understanding of the basic concepts, features and philosophy of Islamic finance. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/5/business/4457640&sec=business
Speaking at an investors forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today called on local and foreign Islamic finance consultants and advisors to spearhead the enrichment and dissemination of Shariah knowledge. This is not the first time that a political leader in an Islamic nation has instructed the Islamic [...]
Promoters of Shariah-Compliant Finance claim that it is the solution to the economic and financial crisis. But this report about Bank Islam Malaysia certainly doesn’t seem to support that claim… http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=429793
Malaysia’s stock exchange will launch a global murabaha trading platform next month to serve a market worth over $100 billion, amid fierce industry debate over the permissibility of the Islamic funding structure. http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSKLR43272420090728
There are two news stories out of Malaysia this week which, at first glance, appear unrelated. But they’re not unrelated. They have a common thread: Shariah. The first item is about a 32-year old woman in Malaysia who was sentenced to caning by a Shariah court (a form of flogging) for drinking a beer: http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-world/model-whipping-sparks-debate-in-malaysia-20090726-dxac.html [...]
Malaysian police have arrested nine Christians, accusing them of attempting to convert Muslim university students. Police detained the nine Christians in a room attached to a Kuala Lumpur university. According to police, a Muslim student filed a police complaint accusing the Christians of trying to convert Muslims. Converting Muslims to other religions is a serious [...]
Shariah-Compliant insurance, also known as takaful, has been the subject of a considerable amount of scrutiny in recent months since the US Treasury took nearly full ownership and control of insurance giant AIG, which has an active takaful division. This is because the purpose of Shariah Finance–and Shariah-Compliant insurance–is to promote shariah and Islam. It [...]
The article linked below is obviously not directly related to Shariah Finance, but it is an example of Shariah courts operating with authority in a supposedly “secular” nation, with that nation’s courts basically rubber stamping a ruling by Shariah authorities. In this case, the ruling involved burying a man as a Muslim, when his family [...]
There is a plan being promoted to create an Islamic Investment and Economic Center at the Malaysian Port Klang Free Zone. Besides the obvious contradiction between “free trade” and Shariah-Compliant Finance and Islamic Economics, there isn’t really much about this article that is especially earth-shattering. However, when one looks more closely into the depth of [...]
Stress-testing Shariah-Compliant Finance
On May 11, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Economic Crisis, Financial Institution, Investments, Iran, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Equity Funds, Islamic Finance, Kuwait, Malaysia, Markets and Trends, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
RGE Monitor has come up with an excellent analysis of the Shariah-Compliant Finance industry and has pretty much debunked all the misleading and flowery reports about Shariah-Compliance providing a safe haven against the current economic decline and financial downturn. It also reinforces another important aspect of Shariah-Compliant Finance that we’ve been writing about on SFW [...]
The French bank, BNP Paribas has long had a reputation for being willing to do just about anything to make a franc. After all, they were the one Western bank that was willing to step up and provide financing for Iran when no one else would touch the ayatollahs. To this day, BNP Paribas is [...]
It was bound to happen. Shariah-Compliant Finance is spreading to the four corners and it was inevitable that one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets, China, would be included. The spread of Shariah-Compliant Finance has been made all the more inevitable by the fact that China is now the second largest importer of [...]
Shariah-Compliant Finance turning to short-selling
On April 17, 2009 · In Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Malaysia, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products
First it was bonds (sukuk) and now Shariah-Compliant Finance is also set to adopt another financial instrument which shariah authorities had considered prohibited for years: short-selling. Is there a pattern here? The way this keeps happening, it certainly tends to reinforce the notion that Shariah-Compliant Finance exists only to spread Islam and Shariah and not [...]
According to the shariah authorities who control the world of shariah-compliant finance, Muslims are not allowed to impose or pay interest in financial transactions. (There is actually a little controversy about this. Some claim that usury is banned in Islam, but not all interest. However, as long as the Islamists control the Islamic world, that [...]
Promoters of Shariah-Compliant Finance have been falsely bragging about their insulation from the global financial crisis. But the truth is slowly starting to leak out. Shariah-Compliant Finance has been hit by the global financial crisis, just like almost all other sectors. Part of this can be explained by the fact that many of the so-called [...]
Malaysian sharia lender RHB Islamic Bank Bhd will no longer use a contract rejected as un-Islamic by Middle Eastern scholars, in a bid to adopt globally accepted sharia standards, a newspaper said on Tuesday. RHB Islamic, the sharia banking arm of Malaysia’s fourth-largest lender RHB,has dropped the use of the bai bithaman ajil structure, the [...]
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