GE Capital Said to Sell 5-Year Bond in First Sukuk
As we reported here 3 weeks ago, General Electric Capital Corporation plans to sell five-year Islamic bonds in its first Shariah compliant debt offer. GE Capital hired Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, and the Bahrain-based Liquidity Management Centre BSC to manage the sale. Those who have followed Shariah […]
Shariah Financiers Court Korea
As we have reported here on SFW previously, the Shariah finance missionaries are moving into South Korea, a country with virtually no Muslim population: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/category/south-korea/ The latest da’wah activity aimed at South Korea involves a major upcoming event hosted in Kuala Lumpur which will focus on Korean “investment bankers, advisers, issuers and institutional investors.” http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=455590
Horizontal and Vertical Integration, Shariah-style
If any of you had any doubts as to the true purpose of Shariah Finance (to promote Shariah itself), the article linked below should go a long way toward convincing you. A large Shariah bank in Kuala Lumpur (one of Shariah’s epicenters), CIMB Islamic, has announced a new financing program aimed specifically at small and […]
The promoters of Shariah Finance have now coined a new term to hide their agenda and describe their movement: “Responsible” investing. To do so, they erroneously claim that “Islamic” financial products have provided insulation from the financial crisis and global recession. This, of course, is rubbish, as we have reported on these pages many times. […]
Since Shariah Law has such a great track record with women’s rights, it’s only natural that the Shariah Finance industry would target wealthy women in countries like Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia… Excerpts and LINK: A Cayman island based wealth management firm has established a fund that will target female investors in the Gulf. […]
I for one am glad I don’t own a “piece of the rock.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6509447/Prudential-starts-Sharia-compliant-fund-management-business.html?
TIMELINE-Defaults: Islamic finance in uncharted territory
The dirty underside of Shariah-Compliant Finance… http://www.reuters.com/article/bankruptcyNews/idUSKLR44503820091105?rpc=401
Islamic finance board to set liquidity standards (an admission of trouble)
The Islamic Financial Services Board plans create guidelines for shariah-compliant banks to manage liquidity risks as the industry looks to beef up regulation after the financial crisis. Shariah-compliant banking has been hit by sukuk (Islamic bond) defaults and the now-deflated Dubai real estate bubble, though numerous industry spokesmen have spread the lie that Shariah Finance […]
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
Shariah goes high-tech: Online Takaful
Noor Investment Group launches online “Islamic insurance” service… http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093280774
Warren Buffet once called financial derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction.” He also said he did not invest in them because he never invested in anything he did not understand and he didn’t think that ANYONE fully understood derivatives. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan also admitted that he did not fully understand the derivatives markets. […]
Skills shortage fear for Islamic finance
A shortage of expertise and a lack of regulatory harmonisation among Shariah principles are the biggest obstacles for growth in the Islamic finance sector, according to a new report published by the British accounting firm, BDO. Unfortunately, most of the executives in the Islamic finance sector still see it growing by as much as 20% […]
Shariah Finance industry holds award dinner
Though it is not the main theme of the article linked below, a major awards dinner was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday night and we thought the listing of recipients was interesting in that it provides insight into the major players working to promote Shariah through its financial arm. It is always also […]
Germany seeks Islamic finance
Germany wants to establish itself as a market for financial products that conform with Islamic law, the head of German financial regulator has said. “We are seeing great interest from investors in Islamic countries, who want to invest their money in Germany according to shariah principles,” BaFin president Jochen Sanio said at a conference on […]
The only thing holding back S&P from jumping into the Islamic bond market is the fact that there is a decided lack of liquidity in the market. Also mentioned as an obstacle is the high default rate on Islamic bonds which we have covered here in the past several months… S&P may consider launching index […]
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 […]
Prudential to launch two Islamic funds
British insurer Prudential plans to launch two Islamic equity funds in Dubai in the coming months and apply for an asset management licence in Indonesia… http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/10/Pages/26102009/10272009_e06349b8453c4b278cce9e206bdf29d6.aspx
GE Capital plans $1 billon Islamic bond: report
Add General Electric Capital Corporation to the growing list of Western corporations who have stepped up to help the Dawah efforts of to Shariah imperialists. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-capital-plans-1-billon-islamic-bond-report-2009-10-25
The Fall of Hong Kong, 2009
Hong Kong will sign a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia at the end of the month to pave the way for Islamic financial business, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=2&art_id=89604&sid=25808987&con_type=1&d_str=20091023&fc=8
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 International Finance Corp., a wing of the World Bank, said Wednesday it would list its first Islamic bond. The IFC Hilal Sukuk, a greenback-denominated 100 million dollar issue with a five-year maturity, will be listed with the Nasdaq Dubai and Bahrain stock exchanges, the Washington-based corporation said. The IFC is the first non-Islamic financial […]
100 Armed Feds Raid Chicago Muslim Meatpacking House
Approximately 100 armed federal agents, backed by a helicopter, 50 vehicles and sharpshooters, raided a Muslim meat packing plant earlier this week but remain silent about the secret operation. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133963?
The default of two prominent Middle Eastern investment companies is shaping up to be a test case for the Islamic bond (sukuk) market. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c277faca-bcd6-11de-a7ec-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss
A Kuwaiti investment firm will launch an investment fund that will offer investors the opportunity to invest in “high-quality income generating from commercial real estate in Western Europe.” http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=38150&ccid=12
Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world’s second-largest reinsurer, is starting a Sharia-compliant family and general insurance business in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Note this very disturbing statement in the article linked below: “The 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, and also non-Muslims interested in the principles underpinning Sharia- compliant products, represents a growing client segment for the […]
In a transparent effort to attract deposits from Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the Islamic Bank of Britain is offering Islamic bonds, or sukuk, with a claimed yield of 4.5% over 24 months. These are described as, by far, the best rates in Britain on short-term bonds. There is an old saying in the investment world: […]
Linked below is an article from Nigeria, a west African nation racked by violence associated with Jihadists attempting to impose Shariah. While their violent efforts to impose Shariah have been unsuccessful and have been met with equal violence, the Jihadists have been more successful in using Shariah-Compliant Finance as a Trojan horse. In the particular […]
Frank Gaffney: Jihad with Money
Frank Gaffney: Jihad with Money
BNP: Lack of Shariah Standards Limiting Islamic Funds
BNP is one of our least favorite banks. Not only are they a big promoter of Shariah Finance in the West, but they also are the banker of choice for the Ayatollahs in Tehran. Nevertheless, they have provided us with some useful fodder today. They are whining because they essentially can’t get a straight answer […]
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