Fresh Sukuk supply post-Fed meeting; sovereigns most likely to dominate in 2016. Kazakhstan parliament approves legislative amendments to facilitate Islamic finance. »

A notable feature of the Malaysian financial sector is the dual system of conventional and Islamic finance. This system was established pursuant to a strategy that had the objective of promoting an inclusive financial system and of strengthening linkages between the financial system and the real economy. »

Sukuk return has been on an upward trajectory since 2009. Such a relatively stable rate of return was partly due to the structure of Islamic bonds which have strong link with their underlying assets, allowing the instruments to escape the danger of excessive speculation. »

Sukuk issuances in October 2015 stood at USD2.6bn, increasing from USD0.5mn registered in the earlier year during the same period. For YTD October 2015 sukuk issuance by value declined 22%y-o-y to USD16.2bn, mainly driven by a sharp decline in sovereign issuances (-21% y-o-y, worthUSD4.8bn) and quasi-sovereign (-82%y-o-y,USD1.0bn). »

Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, a subsidiary banking unit of Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG), announced that it had achieved a large increase of 16% in its net profit in the first nine months of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. »

Growing potential in Asia’s economies supports expansion of Islamic financial services. The region’s efforts towards greater integration, including financial integration, provide solid growth foundations for a strong Sharia compliant financial industry. »

The theory of Islamic banking & finance was introduced about four to five decades ago and as per this theory; the transactions can be benched-marked to prevailing ‘interest rate’ in the country. The argument in its support is that 'interest rate' is a mere number and Islamic finance transactions are only being pegged to this rate to access the future price. »

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali has called on experts in Islamic finance to take advantage of existing technologies and business approaches like mobile banking to develop smart Islamic microfinance. Such efforts, according to Dr. Ali, could help the Islamic finance industry to be a leader in the global economy, and stay ahead of the competition. »

BLME Holdings plc has increased Operating Profit before Impairment Charges by 19%. Total Operating Income has reached £42.4 million for the period with Net Fee Income of £3.0 million and Operating Profit before Tax for the Group of £0.1 million. »

The report summarises global trends in Islamic finance with a particular focus on the development of the UK market. »