Thursday, November 02, 2006

Brunei sukuk, Injazat moves to DIFC, Islamic wealth management in Malaysia & end to double-taxation in Bahrain

"Brunei sells $77mln in Islamic bonnds", Reuters via Yahoo! News Asia, November 2, 2006

Brunei issued B$120 million (US$77 million) in sukuk al-ijara (leasing bonds) with maturities of 91 days with a yield of 3.375 percent. The sukuk were issued to develop the Islamic capital markets within the country. The assets backing the ijara sukuk were not mentioned.

"Injazat Capital Limited announces official launch as it relocates to DIFC", AMEinfo, November 2, 2006

Injazat Capital, a Shari'ah-compliant investment bank has relocated to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to take advantage of its role as a hub of Islamic finance. The company manages two funds, a US$50 million venture capital Injazat Technology Fund and a US$100 million Shefa Healthcare Fund.

"Potential in Islamic wealth management", The Star (Malaysia), November 2, 2006

At the launch of the Pheim Unit Trusts Bhd, Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, member of the Central Syariah Advisory Council for the Malaysian Central Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, said the country's Islamic financial industry should focus on wealth management. He said that the Shari'ah-compliant wealth managment products would increase the attractiveness to high net-worth individuals from the Middle East.

"Duty exemption for Islamic banks hailed", Gulf Daily News, November 2, 2006

Bahrain will no longer double-tax Shari'ah-compliant mortgage products. Until the edict issued by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, a stamp duty was charged when the Islamic financial institution (IFI) purchased the property on behalf of its customer and again when the IFI transfered the title to the buyer. From now on, only the transfer from the IFI to the buyer will be taxed. This is an area where Shari'ah-compliant mortgages have been at a disadvantage vis-a-vis conventional mortgages.

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