Singapore investors flock to Abu Dhabi Bank Sukuk Offer
Here we have more confirmation that sukuk (Shariah-compliant bonds) are the weapon of choice in spreading Shariah finance around the world. Investors in Singapore are not known for their appetite for Shariah-compliant investments, but they seem to have warmed up to a sukuk issued by a major bank in the UAE… http://www.asiaone.com/A1Business/General%2BNews/Story/Mega%2Bsukuk%2Bissue%2Bcreates%2Bripples%2Bhere.html
The board of Dana Gas, the UAE-based natural gas company, is meeting today to discuss the restructuring arrangement that it is working out with creditors in its recent sukuk (Islamic bond) default… Natural gas producer Dana, headquartered in the emirate of Sharjah, said on November 7 it had reached an agreement in principle with creditors on […]
Yesterday we reported that Dana Gas, the United Arab Emirates’ largest natural gas firm, was set to default later today on its $920 million sukuk, or Shariah-compliant bond. We cannot overemphasize the significance of this event. Sukuk have been controversial for some time based on several factors, but chiefly two: (1) Sukuk involve more fees […]
As we alluded to here on SFW back in April and January, the UAE’s Dana Gas, which already had a jaded record when it comes to investment ethics, is NOT going to pay off its creditors under the Shariah-compliant bond (sukuk) arrangement as the fawning financial media had reported. https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2012/04/30/uaes-dana-gas-looking-to-restructure-sukuk/ https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2012/01/31/another-sukuk-in-trouble/ There is no sugarcoating […]
Long-time readers of SFW may recall some posts from the past two years alluding to the fact that, despite a great deal of hype, Shariah-compliant banking is failing in the United Kingdom. For instance, in June of 2010, we posted a report from the Australian media quoting industry insiders in the UK admitting that Shariah-compliant […]
Shariah Finance Watch editor briefs Congressional staffers on Shariah-Compliant Finance
Recently we had the opportunity to brief staff members from 10 Congressional offices on the threat of Shariah Finance. The briefing was recorded and we have posted the full 1-hour briefing here for SFW viewers… Shariah Compliant Finance and Financial Jihad
The U.S. Treasury Department’s point man on terrorist financing is off to the Middle East for nearly two weeks. Daniel Glaser, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing, will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Glaser will talk with government and private sector officials about the threat of terrorist financing, […]
Report: S&P to cut rating of Dubai’s DIFC Investments on Sukuk Refinancing Risk
DIFC Investments LLC, which owns properties in Dubai’s tax-free financial center, may have its credit rating cut at Standard & Poor’s due to “heightened refinancing risk” on its $1.25 billion Islamic bond due in June. DIFC Investments “has little room for delays in its efforts to secure a bank loan and government support to refinance the sukuk,” the rating […]
Back on January 31 we reported that Dana Gas, which had issued a sukuk (Islamic bond) looked to be in trouble: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2012/01/31/another-sukuk-in-trouble/ Well, sure enough, Dana Gas has hired Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, to restructure its sukuk set to mature in October… http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-24/dana-gas-said-to-hire-blackstone-to-restructure-1-billion
Sukuk (aka Islamic bonds) are fast becoming the chief tool for spreading Shariah finance. Just a few years ago, few of our posts dealt with sukuk. Now most of them do. Sukuk are used as a means of imposing Shariah compliance on nations and entities wishing to participate in global debt markets. Russia, Thailand, the […]
The UAE has detained 6 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who it says have links to entities identified by the UN as terrorism financing operations… The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday detained six Islamists whose citizenship had been revoked for alleged links to groups that fund terrorists, their lawyer said. The six men “were summoned […]
Saudi Arabia has overtaken the UAE to become the largest Sukuk (Islamic bond) issuer in the Gulf region, raising $6.4 billion in Q1 2012, compared to issuance of $1.9 billion by the UAE. Malaysia accounted for 71 per cent of total issuance and was the top Sukuk issuer with $31 billion followed by Saudi Arabia […]
Yet another sukuk (Islamic bond) is in trouble. Like the Nakheel sukuk nearly 3 years ago, this issue is from a company in the United Arab Emirates, though this one is based out of Abu Dhabi, rather than Dubai. The company is Dana Gas, a major natural gas exploration and production company. There are questions as […]
Linked below is an article by a financial jihadi posing the question “Is Islamic finance a failure?” As you might expect, the answer turns out to be “no,” which, given the author’s background should come as no surprise. This is a common tactic of the financial jihadis; build a straw man and then proceed to […]
Perhaps if the UAE hadn’t looked the other way on so many dual-use imports into Iran for years and years, they wouldn’t be under so much pressure today. With the imposition of the latest international economic sanctions against Iran and the UAE being under pressure from Washington to enforce them, Tehran’s trade ties with the […]
United Arab Emirates shopping mall developer Majid Al Futtaim has appointed HSBC and Standard Chartered to structure its planned sukuk program. http://arabia.msn.com/business/companies/af/2011/november/10402047/dubais-maf-picks-hsbc-sta.aspx
Nakheel has returned to the scene of the crime so to speak. As we have reported previously, the Dubai-based real estate company, which defaulted on a massive sukuk (Islamic bond) in 2009, is issuing a new sukuk now. Not surprisingly, investors are very skeptical; the brand new “bond” is already trading at a discount to […]
Though the typically cheerleading article linked below doesn’t provide a detailed explanation (no surprise there), Moody’s has assigned a negative outlook on a major Islamic bond offering by a Shariah-compliant bank in the UAE, site of some of the most infamous sukuk defaults over the years… The outlook on FGB’s ratings is negative and therefore […]
Returning to the Scene of the Crime: Nakheel settling claims
Back in 2009, the Dubai real estate entity Nakheel was the biggest in a rash of defaults on Islamic bonds (also known as sukuk). Nakheel is still working to settle the claims of creditors two years later and wants to issue yet another sukuk as part of a settlement. And to top it all off, […]
Gulf states are working towards the creation of a single Sharia board for the region’s Islamic financial institutions, said Hussain Hamed Hassan, head of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC’s Sharia committee and chairman of the Sharia Coordination Committee of the Islamic Financial Institutions in the UAE. Speaking at the launch of Hawkamah Institute’s policy brief on […]
WikiLeaks: Financial support estimated at $100 million a year was making its way from Gulf Arab states to fund “holy war”; children recruited. Islamic charities from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates financed a network in Pakistan that recruited children as young as eight to wage Jihad. A US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks said financial […]
Richard Thomas: Candidate for Dhimmi of the Year
Islamic finance is gradually building momentum across the world and will likely lead the re-emergence of the global financial industry from the recent crisis. However, the industry needs a level playing field to achieve its potential, said Richard Thomas, Chief Executive of London-based Gatehouse Bank, in a recent interview with Gulf News. http://gulfnews.com/business/banking/islamic-finance-could-lead-banks-recovery-1.798592
The world’s first Shariah-compliant movie fund, which is set to film and produce its own Hollywood-style story of a UAE hero, has reached more than $40m in just four weeks, the fund’s manager has told Arabian Business. Funding for Antar: The Black Knight is expected to reach $85-90m by April, half of which will come […]
The UAE Central Bank said on Sunday it had started issuing the country’s first Islamic certificates of deposits (ICDs) as part of a plan to create a new investment tool for Shariah-compliant banks in the country. The Central Bank said it held an auction to sell one-week and 12-month ICDs on Wednesday, adding that they […]
Reuters continues to shill for Shariah, this time by whitewashing the role of women in Shariah Finance
Reuters published a curious article today which, like much of what the former news agency pens about Shariah Finance, reads more like a marketing piece than a news article. This time Reuters is celebrating the role of women in Shariah Finance, speculating that they could play a much larger role than they are now… Recent […]
Despite the obvious spin in this news story, Ajman Bank, the first Shariah-Compliant bank in the emirate of Ajman, posted a loss during the first half of 2010. The “good” news is the loss wasn’t as big as their loss in the first half of 2009. http://www.emirates247.com/business/corporate/ajman-bank-losses-shrink-28-to-dh15-97m-in-h1-2010-08-04-1.274909?
Official zakat contributions doubled in the first half of the year to just more than Dh15 million, according to figures announced yesterday. Donations soared from less than Dh8m in the same period last year. The number of people contributing to the Zakat Fund, the government body that distributes alms revenue, also rose by 25 per cent. […]
A big portion of certificates of deposits (CDs) issued by the UAE Central Bank is held by Shariah banks… Though the total CDs with the UAE Central Bank as at end-March 2010 amount to Dh68.5 billion, more than Dh20bn are held by Shariah banks which do not stand to get paid against that as Islamic […]
The UAE Central Bank is said to be working on a Shariah-compliant liquidity window to help Islamic banks access their short-term funding needs. http://www.business24-7.ae/banking-finance/banking/uae-to-set-up-fund-for-islamic-banks-2010-06-30-1.261326?
The Ministry of Economy issued a law on the Islamic insurance system (Takaful) to regulate the work of Islamic insurance companies in the country. Under the new law, each insurance company should set up a Zakat fund in which zakat money would be deposited. http://gulfnews.com/business/general/law-to-regulate-islamic-insurance-1.647033
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