In the Islamic-finance world, real estate has always been, save for a few exceptions, a perfect asset class. You have a property that is occupied by a tenant. That tenant pays rent in exchange for the right to use and occupy that property. Once that rent is paid to the landlord, the landlord uses the […]
IN 2008 Ethiopia’s conservative central bank experimented: it authorised interest-free banking. Interest is prohibited under sharia law, so the move was lauded as a step towards expanding financial services for the country’s large and often poor Muslim minority. But momentum soon stalled. An attempt to launch a fully-fledged Islamic bank foundered. Today most of Ethiopia’s […]
By Arno Maierbrugger/Gulf Times Correspondent /Bangkok The Philippines’s southern Muslim region of Mindanao wants to use an Islamic finance-backed scheme to raise funds in order to recover and rebuild Marawi City which has been severely damaged in almost two months of violent […]
Islamic finance provides Kenyans with cushion against drought WAJIR, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Hamara Hujale tries to keep an eye on two squirming children and a pot of simmering ugali – a white doughy dish – as she reaches for her buzzing phone. […]
Governments in North Africa are increasingly leaning towards solid regulations for Islamic finance in a quest to find Shariah-compliant alternatives for decreasing conventional funding sources in order to rein in their current account and budget deficits. These initiatives come at a time when […]
Hamara Hujale tries to keep an eye on two squirming children and a pot of simmering ugali – a white doughy dish – as she reaches for her buzzing phone. After speaking a few words, she hangs up and scribbles in a […]
By Claire Wanja The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has lauded government efforts to deepen Islamic Finance in Kenya, following the Presidential assent of the Finance Act 2017, confirming Kenya’s commitment to positioning itself as a regional Islamic Finance hub. The Finance Act 2017 contains a […]
Dubai: Kuwait’s Islamic financial services sector is growing rapidly, with Islamic banking emerging as the most developed component of the industry, according to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Kuwait’s Islamic banking industry has grown rapidly to become an important part of the domestic and global Islamic financial system. The country operates […]
S&P Global Ratings believes the Islamic finance industry will continue to expand this year, but lose some momentum in 2018. The industry’s assets reached $2 trillion at year-end 2016, slightly below our September forecast. Even though sukuk issuance accelerated in the first half of this year and will likely stay strong in the second half, […]
* Dana Gas seeking to have $700 mln sukuk declared invalid * Says Islamic finance has evolved since they were issued * Could increase perceived risk of sukuk issued in UAE * Dana seeking ruling in UAE court * Creditors would prefer English courts By Bernardo Vizcaino and Davide Barbuscia DUBAI/SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Dubai’s ambitions […]
