LUXEMBOURG - Appetite for Islamic Bonds rises despite "Grexit"-fears

news.xinhuanet.com - DUBAI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- While the Euro zone crisis has been weighing on investors' sentiment and on global economic prospects, the issuance of Islamic bonds witnesses a renaissance in East and West likewise.
Global issuances of Islamic Bonds, known as Sukuk, surged 55 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, reaching 43.5 billion U.S. dollars, according to market research agency Zawya.
Despite the escalation of the Euro zone debt crisis in Greece and Spain, where banks suffered withdrawals worth 800 million Euros (one billion dollars) and one billion Euros (1.25 billion dollars) respectively, weighing on global stock indices in recent weeks, new Sukuk issuances are in the global pipeline.
Last May 22, Fernand Grulms, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, an initiative which promotes Luxembourg as the second largest hub for investment funds, said in Manama at the World Islamic Funds Conference, that the Grand Duchy plans to issue Islamic bonds. These would be the first Triple-A rated Sukuk issued by a Euro zone sovereign issuer.  (source)

LUXEMBOURG - Luxembourg launches Islamic fund

www.cipfinancial.net  - The recent incorporation in Luxembourg of the SEDCO Capital Global Funds will boost the total assets held by Islamic investment structures and vehicles under Luxembourg law.

 The specialised investment fund, incorporated as a Luxembourg Sicav at the initiative of SEDCO Capital (part of the Jeddah-based SEDCO Holding group of companies) is a fund with multiple sub--‐funds and is set to reach over 1 billion dollars within the first year after launch.

The fund is Shari’ah-compliant. A recent study by Luxembourg for Finance showed that assets held by fund structures investing according to Shari’ah principles reached 2 billion dollars at 31 December 2011.
Just under half of this money was held in regulated investment funds with the balance in unregulated structures and securitisation vehicles. Consultants indicate that further projects are in the pipeline.
Luxembourg has been actively promoting its services to Shari’ah-compliant investment structures since 2008 and ALFI, the investment fund association, has a dedicated working committee.  (source)

FRANCE - Paris seeks to become Islamic finance hub in Europe

www.zawya.com - A report prepared by KFH-Research stated that new global markets are seeking to join the main players in the Islamic financing industry and services, such as France. France is working relentlessly to make numerous legal and organizational reformations to facilitate the offering of Islamic financial services and products.
The report added that there is great potential for growth in the field of Islamic financial services in France, since France seeks to become a hub for Islamic banking in Europe. It noted that 1.5 million clients are willing to use Islamic banking tools and products, which equals USD 18.2 billion. In addition, French authorities have offered strong support to develop Islamic banking services, not to mention the high number of Muslims living there who seek Islamic banking services. However, the report mentioned that some legislations need to be amended. (source)

ITALY - Islam: interest in 'halal' finance growing in Italy

www.ansamed.info - (ANSAmed) - MILAN, MARCH 19 - Islamic finance has existed in Europe for more than forty years, with the United Kingdom one of the world's leading countries in the field, and others, such as Malta and Luxembourg, also at the forefront. In Italy, where the sector is more or less non-existent, results of the first experiments are now beginning to be seen.

In 2009, for instance, Deloitte set up a sector dedicated to Islamic finance. ''At the moment, we are developing products compatible with Italian regulations,'' says Alberto Liotta, a director at the consultancy firm, a guest at a conference organised by Islamic Relief Italia. ''Attention is mainly focussed on conventional financing instruments, such as leasing, the concept of which can be brought closer to those of Islamic finance''.  (source)

FRANCE - After the meat, halal life insurance

www.lepoint.fr - The French Company consulting and investment (CFCI & Associates) is preparing to distribute the first life insurance "Sharia compliant" in France. Objective: To provide customers French Muslim - but not only - an average savings in accordance with his religious beliefs and, especially, insists the CFCI, ethical. The minimum bet will be 100 euros. Customers will be canvassed by phone or face to face.
The money raised in a Luxembourg-based Sicav will be invested to 85% on equity funds, and not in conventional bonds, since Islamic law forbids the payment by interest rates. The rest will be invested in money market funds or bond funds Islamic. (source)

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

LUXEMBOURG - QATAR - “Together we can achieve more”

www.lff.lu - These words by Luxembourg Minister of Finance, Luc Frieden, summed up the discussions at a seminar organised by LFF with the support of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA). This event, which is the first to follow the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Grand Duchy and the State of Qatar six months ago, was designed to foster contacts between members of the two respective financial centres. Minister Frieden’s words were echoed by Mr Abdulrahman Al Shaibi, Managing Director of the QFCA: “We have so many things in common”, he said; “we can learn from each other’s experience.” (source)

LUXEMBOURG - DIFC and Luxembourg for Finance discuss potential collaboration to develop the financial services industry in the GCC

WWW.WAM.AE -  Dubai, 31st Jan. 2012 (WAM) -- The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub connecting the region's emerging markets with the developed markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas, hosted "Luxembourg and Dubai, a partnership for financial services", in collaboration with Luxembourg for Finance, a public-private partnership between the Luxembourg Government and the Luxembourg Financial Industry Federation that is responsible for the development of the financial sector in the Grand Duchy. (source)

LUXEMBOURG - Qatar, Luxembourg strengthen cooperation

www.theasset.com - The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Luxembourg for Finance are exploring how to further advance their partnership for financial services.

 

They recently completed a seminar which followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between QFC Authority and Luxembourg for Finance last year, to promote cooperation between the two countries in financial services.  Among the topics discussed at the seminar were financial services opportunities in Qatar and the role of Luxembourg as an international hub for financial services in Europe. Luxembourg for Finance is the agency for the development of Luxembourg as a financial centre. (source)

UK - LSE enhances its sukuk listing prowess

www.arabnews.com - The UK Treasury may have reiterated that a sovereign debut benchmark Sukuk is not currently prudent because it would not give “value-for-money” to UK taxpayers, but one UK entity of global repute that is enhancing its Islamic finance business is the London Stock Exchange (LSE). 

In January 2012, the LSE in fact attracted the listing of another two sukuk bringing the total number of sukuk which have listed on the exchange to 42 and the total money raised to over $23.75 billion.  (source)

LUXEMBOURG - PUBLICATIONS - Luxembourg vehicles for Islamic Finance

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LUXEMBOURG - Structuring Islamic real estate investments through Luxembourg

www.kpmg.com - Real estate is the preferred asset class of many Islamic investors, and European located properties seem to be more and more in their focus.
For tax efficiency purposes, these investments are commonly structured through real estate investment vehicles established in a tax efficient jurisdiction such as Luxembourg. The present article provides an overview of real estate in Islamic asset management and the Luxembourg vehicles that may be used for such investments.

(rest of article in link)

LUXEMBOURG - VIDEOS - Alfi Express Episode 9 - Sohail Jaffer (FWU)

ALFI EXPRESS (source)

In its continuing series of podcasts, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry talks to Sohail Jaffer, FWU International about the growth in Islamic finance. 

In this episode, Sohail is speaking about:

- Growing interest for Islamic finance

- Future evolution

- Luxembourg's position

EUROPE - ARTICLE - Islamic Banking and Finance on the European Market

(by ISFIN) Islamic Finance, developed during the 70's in the Muslim countries, is experiencing an increasing popularity far outside the Muslim World's frontiers. In a world where the dominance of the capitalist economy is obvious, the development of a system where the main principle is the exclusion the interest rate comes close to being an exploit. At first, Islamic finance has been implemented in the Western World mainly to benefit from the advantages offered by European financial centers such as the Luxembourg and Switzerland. From this first tendency, only the corporate and private banking clients have taken advantage of. It is only recently that retail services started to be offered on the Western territory, conscious of the increasing economic power of the different European Muslim communities. (full article and source)

SPAIN - EUROPE - Saudi-Spanish Collaboration Seeks to boost Islamic finance values in Europe and beyond

Islamic finance in the European Union may be taking a back seat as the continent is gripped with a dire euro zone sovereign debt crisis which has even impacted on sovereign Germany's attractiveness as a bond investment asset class.

Similarly, London's role as a hub for Islamic finance, investment and trade - the declared ambition of the previous Labor government and the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition - is stalling because of the disappointment of the UK Treasury deciding not to raise funds in the wholesale sterling market through a debut sovereign Sukuk. Luxembourg and France have also introduced tax neutrality measures to facilitate sukuk and other Islamic financial products, but have yet to commit to issuing a debut sukuk, claiming as the UK does it is not the right timing nor at the right price. (source)

UK - FRANCE - LUXEMBOURG - EVENTS - WIBC Bahrain : Top financial groups to attend Bahrain summit

tradearabia.com - Financial organisations from Bermuda and Luxembourg will be making their first appearance at this year's World Islamic Banking Conference.
And there will be a return of representation from Singapore as well as a strong turnout from Malaysia.
"This year's event will be at least as strong as last year's with forums being hosted by both the UK and, for the first time, France, reflecting the growing importance of Islamic finance in Europe," said event organiser David McLean.  (source)

UK - CAPITAL MARKETS - Moody's assigns BLME US dollar income fund Baa rating

ameinfo.com - Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa bond fund rating to the Bank of London and The Middle East Plc 'BLME' Sharia'a Umbrella Fund - USD Income Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled fund (the 'Fund').

The Fund is structured as a Luxembourg domiciled SICAV-SIF and aims to provide a competitive level of income together with a high degree of security of capital. The fund seeks to achieve this by investing in a diversified portfolio of high quality Islamic money market instruments, Sukuk (an Islamic 'bond') and Ijara (the leasing of assets). (source)

LUXEMBOURG - CAPITAL MARKETS - HSBC sees Islamic serviced funds AUM hitting $10 bln and Luxembourg draws attention

www.thedailynewsegypt.com - DUBAI: HSBC Amanah, the Islamic arm of lender HSBC, expects a pipeline of 30 new Islamic funds to boost its assets under management for serviced funds to $10 billion, its global head of securities services said on Tuesday.
Germain Birgen said the bank currently services 90 Islamic funds worth roughly $5 billion in assets. The 30 new funds are expected to launch within the next 12 to 18 months, he said.  (source)

EUROPE - EVENTS - Europe can learn from Islamic finance, says Luxembourg's Finance Minister

biz.thestar.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR: Europe can learn and gain from Islamic finance, given that financial institutions under it, have remained stable against the backdrop of the eurozone debt crisis.

This observation was made by Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Luc Frieden, in a keynote address at the IFN 2011 Issuers & Investors Asia Forum here today. Frieden said despite the credit crunch that has impacted Europe's banks, Islamic financial institutions had weathered the global crisis and emerged to be the most well managed. (source)

GERMANY - KL’s edge in Islamic finance - Bundesbank send representatives to Malaysia's Securities Commission for training on Islamic finance

thestaronline - German don: Malaysia’s comprehensive regulatory framework a competitive advantage

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's competitive advantage in Islamic finance is its comprehensive regulatory framework, according to a German economics professor. (source)