FRANCE - Islamic banking arriving in France in 2012

repandre.com - Islam strictly forbids usury, speculation but also the chance.

Therefore, to stay in the Islamic legitimacy, financial offices have implemented regulations compatible with the Mudaraba or Musharaka among others. The Islamic bank can then sell or lease the benefits it has in the past picked up, it takes the form of means of leasing and hire purchase. The person may pay to the other, for example through the construction of apartments (source)

UK - BANKING - Islamic Bank of Britain Show Yourself to Compete with Conventional

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON - Islamic Bank of Britain (The Islamic Bank of Britain or IBB) showed that even in middle-market society, Islamic banks can still compete with conventional banking business. The bank apparently dared to apply for a product competitive margin deposits, and even beat some major conventional banks in the country, such as Barclays Bank, Bank Skonlandia, Halifax Bank, and Northern Rock. (source)

UK - FINANCE - Qatar Islamic Bank UK joins Unilever in finance deal for UK science Technology Company

QIB (UK), Qatar Islamic Bank's subsidiary operating out of the United Kingdom has joined forces with Unilever Ventures Limited, the European venture capital arm of Unilever the world's second largest FMCG company, in putting together a financing round to support the commercialisation of a new technology that has been developed by IOTA NanoSolutions (INS).(source)

UK - LUXEMBOURG - London and Luxembourg battle over sukuk listing domicile

London and Luxembourg are engaged in a friendly “battle of the listings domicile” especially for sukuk and Islamic investment funds, and its seems that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) currently has the upper hand on its counterpart in the Duchy, Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

In a short and simple announcement on June 1, the London Stock Exchange welcomed "the listing of another two sukuk bringing the total number of sukuk which have listed on the exchange to 33 and the total money raised to $19.4 billion." The two latest listings coup include the IDB Trust Services Ltd.’s $750 million Trust Certificates, and the SIB Sukuk Company II Ltd.'s $400 million Trust Certificates which are due on May 25, 2016. (source - arabnews)

UK - Britain gets boost from TheCityUK

The Islamic finance sector in the UK has received a major structural boost following the integration last week of the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat (UKIFS) into TheCityUK, the independent body promoting UK-wide financial and related professional services. UKIFS, which was established in March 2010, is the leading cross-sectoral body assisting with the promotion and development of Islamic Finance, both domestically and to represent the UK industry internationally. (source)

UK - QIB’s UK unit showcasing realty product in France

Buoyed by the response for its real estate mezzanine funding, QIB (UK) is showcasing the product at the annual MIPIM real estate conference that begins today in France. The product was introduced during 2010 and is focused upon the 60%-80% tranche within the capital stack. It allows QIB (UK), as an Islamic financier to co-exist with a conventional bank within the same financing structure whilst fully meeting Shariah requirements and guidelines. “I believe the real estate mezzanine product will enable investors to refinance upon satisfactory terms,” said Michael Clark, CEO of QIB (UK). (full story)

UK - Two board members at Islamic Bank of Britain resign

Two members of the board of Birmingham-based Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) have resigned.

The bank’s chairman Mohsen Moustafa will step down from 31 December and non-executive director Abdul Hakim Al Adhamy is to resign with effect from 10 November, the Aim-listed bank said in a statement to the stock exchange.