Citi to expand Qatar presence, issue more Islamic bonds
Despite the recent action by Qatar to order the closing of Shariah-Compliant operations by foreign banks, Citi Group is determined to launch headlong into the tiny Islamist monarchy… http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000570764/Citi_to_expand_Qatar_presence_see_more_sukuk_issues/Article.htm
Qatar Moves to Shut Down Shariah-Compliant Divisions of International Banks
Hat tip to Creeping Sharia for this find… For years now SFW has warned big Western banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays about the perils of dabbling in Shariah-Compliant Finance. Each of these banks, but HSBC in particular, has happily jumped in bed with the financial jihadists to get their piece of the Shariah-Compliant […]
Qatar Islamic Bank targets British mid-cap market
Qatar Islamic Bank, whose Shariah advisory board is headed by the Jihadist Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, has unveiled a new lending strategy targeting small to medium-sized British companies. QIB is focusing on profitable companies whose products are in line with “Islamic” tenets, which means Shariah-compliant. Qaradawi is forbidden to enter the UK due to his ties […]
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-islamic-bank-q3-net-misses-analysts-estimates-356945.html?
Qatar Islamic Bank, the leading Shariah-compliant financial institution in Qatar and owner of the largest Shariah-compliant banking network in the world, has been chosen as the Bank of the Year by the Arabian Business Awards. We at SFW are certainly not celebrating this occasion, but we bring it up for a very good reason. Though […]
Al Jazeera Finance is Qatar’s leading, Shariah-Compliant finance company and has started a media and PR campaign designed to expand its services and grow the company… http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4364137 In researching Al Jazeera Finance, we noticed that they provide no disclosure of their Shariah advisors: http://www.aljazeera.com.qa/new/
In a sign of Islamic economic imperialism on the march, Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) has secured a £20million ($30.8 million) capital injection from founding shareholder Qatar International Islamic Bank… http://www.cpifinancial.net/v2/News.aspx?v=1&aid=5632&sec=Islamic%20Finance
Harrods Goes Halal
Now Muslim women can buy expensive, high-fashion versions of black Islamic robes, which obscure the contours of a woman’s body, when they head to London to escape the Arabian Peninsula’s sweltering heat. Harrods started selling abayas by Beljafla’s DAS Collection in June, a month after Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund bought the landmark store. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-12/harrods-sees-profit-from-islamic-fashion-as-qatar-takes-control.html
The Washington Post is reporting that Washington DC public school students are being instructed in Arabic and participating in a cultural exchange program that is being sponsored by the Qatar Foundation International, an organization with ties to the Youssef Qaradawi, a Shariah scholar who has been banned from traveling to the US or the UK […]
We ordinarily do not post links to articles which require a subscription to read, but we made an exception in this case. This is the sad story of a man who traveled to the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar to promote his banking career with a big Qatari bank. He no doubt regrets that decision […]
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
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 […]
The Contagion Spreads: Qatar Islamic Bank has $15 mln exposure to Dubai World
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: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2009/03/10/qatar-to-prop-up-its-banking-system/ $15 million doesn’t seem like a great deal of exposure, […]
The Shariah Finance industry, estimated to have an asset value of over $800 billion currently, is forecast to quadruple in size over the next decade, according to the CEO of Qatar’s Doha Bank. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Business_News&subsection=Local+Business&month=November2009&file=Business_News2009110435310.xml
Need for deeper look into Islamic financial products
We agree with the basic premise of the article linked below, but for different reasons. We absolutely agree that there is a great need for a “deeper look” into “Islamic financial products,” but not merely to make them competitive and integrate them into the conventional financial system. We believe that a deeper look should involve […]
Investment Fraud from the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies
Earlier this week members of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies held a seminar for MBA students at HEC in Paris touting “Islamic finance.” At this “seminar” the Shariah scholars made statements which amount to fraud. If a member of the financial services industry in America made these types of statements, that person would almost […]
Qatar Islamic Insurance net profit dips
Qatar Islamic Insurance has posted net profit down more than 50% at $7.5m for the first nine months after a drop in investment income, reports Middle East Insurance News. http://www.insurancenewslink.com/Articles/ExternalView?u=7&a=34940&i=1
The head of the Union of Arab Banks likes to tell stories. Fictional stories. He is the latest in a long line of Islamists who have been spreading propaganda about “Islamic finance” being immune to the impact of the current global economic downturn. Adnan Yousef claimed in a recent speech that the global financial crisis […]
QInvest and Fortis Bank Nederland to create first Shariah Compliant “Mezzanine” Shipping Fund.
The Netherlands has now joined the Shariah nightmare as one of that country’s biggest banks, Fortis, is teaming up with QInvest of Qatar to launch a fund to target financing opportunities in the marine transportation industry. This actually gives SFW the opportunity to comment on the wider implications of Shariah Compliant Finance and some of […]
And now, Shariah-Compliant car loans…
The International Bank of Qatar has just released a new Shariah-Compliant automobile financing mechanism. You can be sure that this mechanism will soon pop up in the West, no doubt starting with Britain. And, in time, this will come to the USA… http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20090830084535
Qatar Islamic Bank makes large zakat donations
The article linked below details some zakat donations made by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB). The details of the payments which are disclosed certainly make them seem very benign, even benevolent. But this article is illustrative of the fact that zakat is integral to Islamic finance and banking operations. The problem with zakat from a Western […]
The very capable folks at Money Laundering Alert sent out an email bulletin and posted an article online about the US Treasury Department recently fining Qatar’s largest private bank, Doha Bank $5 million. The fine was imposed because Doha Bank failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) over 500 times over the past three years […]
If “Islamic Finance” provides a hedge against the current financial crisis, why has the government of Qatar been forced to bail out its banking system, including Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar International Islamic Bank? The markets are rejoicing at the bailout, but the fact that Qatar’s banking sector was deemed to be one of the weakest […]
Islamic markets tumble, Dubai floats conventional bond
Despite all the sunshine being thrown about by promoters of Shariah-Compliant Finance in the West, the so-called “insulated” Islamic markets are tumbling in the Middle East. Monarchies in the Gulf have had to resort to injecting capital into their banking systems to prevent a crisis. This was done in Abu Dhabi and Dubai appears set […]
A private research firm has issued a report indicating that Hezbollah has received an infusion of $1 Billion in cash in recent months, with $600 million coming from Iran and the rest coming from other sources, among which Qatar was mentioned prominently, donating $300 million to Hezbollah. The final $100 million was reported to have […]
Qaradawi back in the news
If one listens to the promoters of Shariah-Compliant Finance, one gets the distinct impression that it is completely innocuous, even benevolent. The “scholars” who make the decisions about shariah compliance are made to seem like wise old men who sit around and do nothing but pray for peace all day long. The reality is somewhat […]
Shariah Finance Conference coming up in April, starring (scroll down) the usual shariah advisors – and the linking of the need for liquidity to SCF can mean not just sovereign wealth funds but direct investments in financial institutions, countertrade directly with governments, and individual corporations – or just plain purchases of Treasuries…. Lots of ways […]
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/371843.htm http://www.moscowtimes.ru/ The Moscow Times » Issue 4015 » Frontpage Top addthis_pub = ‘ruslanTMT’; Vahid Salemi / AP Miller, right, talking with al-Attiyah as Nozari looks on. The three discussed the formation of a ‘gas OPEC‘ on Tuesday. Gazprom, Iran, Qatar in ‘Gas Troika’ 22 […]
Qataris buy 20 pct of UK property firm Chelsfield The Qatar Investment Authority has bought a 20 per cent stake in British property company Chelsfield Partners LLP, boosting the Gulf state’s interest in commercial real estate, the two partners said on Sunday.
Salmond targets Qatar for cash First Minister Alex Salmond « Previous Published Date: 28 September 2008 By Eddie Barnes Political Editor ALEX Salmond is to ask a cash-rich Arab state to stump up billions of pounds to pay for desperately-needed upgrades to Scotland’s creaking road, rail and power networks. The First Minister will […]
Categories
Archives