2015 looks bright all round for Islamic banking and finance

The Islamic banking and finance market exceeded US$2 trillion in assets globally, strengthening in traditional markets such as Malaysia, Pakistan and the Middle East, and expanding into other destinations for the first time, including in Korea, Australia, and China, says the AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE), an advisor and consultancy for Islamic finance. 

According to the organisation, countries which recently entered into Islamic banking and finance have also shown good progress, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Oman. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda CIBE, predicts that the market could exceed US$2.5 trillion dollars in 2015, estimating that Islamic banking will account for 86% share, with sukuk (6%), Islamic funds (4%), takaful (2%), and Islamic microfinance (1%) rounding out the remainder of the pie. 

He added that there are more than 1,500 organisations offering Islamic financial services in more than 90 countries worldwide, and that non-Muslim countries take up 40% of this share. On the other hand, Muslim countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia dominate in global Islamic banking, contributing 76% of the market. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal forecast rapid growth of the sukuk market in 2015, and said it could be worth as much as US$150 billion. The Islamic fund market could be valued at US$100 billion. Takaful will contribute a more modest US$20 billion in 2015, a 15% growth rate, with India named as one of its new destinations. Islamic microfinance will also see a positive year, the CEO said. 

Meethaq, Al Salam Bank Bahrain and BMI Bank sign MoU on Islamic banking

Meethaq Islamic Banking, the Islamic banking pioneer from Bank Muscat in Oman, has come together with Al Salam Bank Bahrain (ASBB) and Bahraini retail and commercial banking institution BMI Bank on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collectively pool expertise, technologies and resources and work together across a range of Islamic banking activities. 

Source: Meethaq. From left, Jamal Al Hazeem, Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank; Sulaiman Al Harthy, Group General Manager – Meethaq Islamic Banking; and Yousif Taqi, Chief Executive Officer of Al Salam Bank Bahrain. 

The MoU was signed at BMI Bank's headquarters by Sulaiman Al Harthy, Group General Manager – Meethaq Islamic Banking, Yousif Taqi, Chief Executive Officer of Al Salam Bank, and Jamal Al Hazeem, Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank.

Al Harthy said: "Meethaq is delighted to sign the MoU with Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank and we will work together to offer various Islamic finance products covering treasury, trade finance and capital market in Oman. Meethaq is working to strengthen its operations in the Sultanate which is witnessing substantial growth in Islamic banking industry and we consider our partnership with Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank a great advantage to maximise favourable opportunities and thereby expand our coverage."

Al Hazeem said: "Since its inception in 2013, Meethaq has emerged as a leading Islamic banking service provider in Oman and has enhanced its reputation within the region through its investments in staff, systems and controls along with the timely launch of several world-class shari'ah based products and services. Our organisations share mutual principles, values and expertise and are therefore pleased to sign this MoU and look forward to enhancing this partnership in the coming years."

Among the Islamic banking activities to be considered under the MoU are Islamic syndications, particularly those issued in Oman, treasury transactions, liquidity management products and Islamic trade finance transactions. 

NDC wins Temenos award for Islamic banking project in Yemen

From left: Ammara Masood, President, NDC, Behram Ahmed, CEO & Chairman, NDC, David Arnott, CEO, Temenos, and Navaid Kareem, EVP, Head of Marketing & Business Development, NDC, after receiving the Partner Project of the Year Award at TCF 2014.

National Data Consultant (NDC), a Pakistan-headquartered Temenos Partner for T24 Consulting and Implementation Services for banks, has been awarded the Partner Project of the Year award at the Temenos Community Forum (TCF) annual awards in Italy. Temenos provides banking software. 

The award was in recognition of NDC's outstanding performance in an Islamic banking implementation at the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The project was delivered within six months and enabled the bank to be the first in Yemen to offer both conventional and Islamic products to their customers. In addition, having an Upgraded core banking platform in place enabled the bank to purchase Temenos Connect for digital-channel delivery. 

NDC Chairman & CEO Behram Ahmed stated, "NDC's footprint covers the entire Middle East and North Africa today and is a testimony to the investment in training of T24 specialists who are now deployed globally on projects. This long term investment in specialised human resource development, experienced project management and Temenos methodologies helped NDC to win the Temenos Partner Project of the Year Award."

NDC President Ammara Masood commented, "NDC winning this award for the second time in four years shows our continuous commitment to the quality and delivery capability as well as customer satisfaction."
 
Mike Head, Global Alliances Director, Temenos said, "We are delighted to have presented our Partner Project of the Year award to NDC, in recognition of its exceptional performance in implementing our Islamic banking solution at Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The dedication of the team to the project and the level of collaboration displayed were very impressive, and resulted in the very fast implementation. The project fully followed the Temenos implementation methodology, enabling the bank to become on the first adopters of the new Temenos Connect products for digital-channel delivery."

AIBIM to organise fourth Global Islamic Finance Forum in KL

The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) will organise the fourth Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF 2014) in Kuala Lumpur from 2 to 4 September 2014 in support of Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiatives.

Themed "Marketplace for Global Linkages", this forum aims to discuss the opportunities that Islamic finance can offer the global financial community by bringing together global Islamic financial industry players, market participants, shari'ah scholars and regulators.

Events at GIFF 2014 include a Regulators Forum, International Islamic Capital Markets Forum, Islamic Banking & Finance Conference, CEOs Dialogue (Banking and Takaful), Executive Master Class, Islamic Finance Colloquium, and Islamic Venture Capital & Private Equity Symposium. Fringe events will include exhibitions from local and international organisations, networking sessions and private business meetings.

In view of the growing global interest in Islamic finance, GIFF 2014 is expected to draw interest from chairmen, CEOs and top level management local and international participants from the Middle East, European and Asian countries.  

Supporting organisations for the event include Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia, Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) and IBFIM, an industry-owned institute dedicated to training personnel for the Islamic finance industry.
 
Attendance is by invitation only but open to those who register online and have an active interest in the industry. Click here to register.  

Fifth annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Singapore this June

The fifth annual World Islamic Banking Conference will be held in Singapore from June 2 to 4 at the Pan Pacific Hotel.There will be a pre-conference workshop on June 2, with the conference proper running over the remaining two days.

Ravi Menon, Governor, Monetary Authority of Singapore, will deliver the welcome address on June 3, followed by a keynote from Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Singapore Ambassador to Kuwait and Foreign Minister's Special Envoy to the Middle East. The keynote speaker on the next day is Jaseem Ahmed,
Secretary-General, Islamic Financial Services Board. 

More information about the event can be found here.