WORLD - PUBLICATIONS - Islamic Finance News GUIDE 2012

Country Reviews :

Czech Republic: Seeking Solutions
France: Seeking diversity
Germany: More talks, little action
Ireland: Will Islamic finance offer respite?
Italy: Friends in high places
Luxembourg: Gaining momentum
Malta: The Bahrain of the Mediterranean
Russia: Lukewarm reception
Turkey: A bumper year for Islamic finance
UK: Real estate to dominate


Full Guide

UK - UK Treasury to rule out sukuk on 'not-value-for-money' basis

The United Kingdom is no where nearer to going to the wholesale sterling market to raise financing through a debut benchmark sovereign sukuk in 2012 than it was in January 2011 when Treasury last confirmed that it would not be “value for money” for the UK taxpayer to do so. (source)

IRELAND - CIMB-Principal Islamic establishes three Islamic funds towards attracting global investors

theborneopost.com - KUCHING: CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd (CIMB-Principal Islamic), a joint-venture local Islamic global asset management company between CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB) and Principal Global Investors, has obtained the approval from the Central Bank of Ireland for the establishment of CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (Ireland) Public Ltd. (source)

UK - CAPITAL MARKETS - UK Experts Eye Islamic Finance Solution

Onislam - CAIRO – A decision by the UK government to put on hold earlier plans for the first Islamic sovereign bond from a western country was criticized as a setback for the initiative that could have provided more security to a shaking economy.

“It would certainly help the UK market if the government decided to go ahead with a benchmark sukuk,” Farmida Bi, partner at Norton Rose, the law firm, told the Financial Times.

“It could galvanize the market and would lead to more interest in Islamic finance in London and [continental] Europe.”  (source)

UK - CAPITAL MARKETS - London: Sukuk required to secure pole position

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UK - TAKAFUL - Takaful-focused insurer bought by run-off investment specialists

www.insuranceage.co.uk - Randall & Quilter has agreed to buy Principle Insurance for £4.275m cash.

Principle has been in run-off since October 2009. It was launched and received Financial Services Authority approval in 2008 with the aim of meeting the motor and home insurance needs of the country's Muslim population as the only Shariah-compliant insurance provider in Britain at the time.
The provider, which consists of almost entirely of Takaful motor insurance business, had net reserves of approximately £2.8m on 30 June 2011. The latest available audited accounts to 31 December 2010 revealed a net asset value of £5.1m.  (source)

IRELAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Goldman Sachs registers $2 bln sukuk programme - IFR

www.lse.co.uk - DUBAI, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs has registered a $2 billion Islamic bond programme with the Irish Stock Exchange through its Cayman Islands special purpose vehicle Global Sukuk Company Limited, according to International Financing Review (IFR).

The Islamic bonds, or sukuk, could be denominated in UAE dirhams, U.S. dollars, Saudi riyals or Singapore dollars but a time frame for issuance was not provided.   (source)