Turning towards Mecca
THE ECONOMIST: CHINA is not the only financial powerhouse with its hungry eye on Africa. Flush with oil wealth, the Gulf states, too, are spying profitable opportunities among the hundreds of millions of Muslims who live just a hop across the Red Sea. Africa's economies are growing fast, thanks in large part to the commodities boom. Although many people on the continent do not have a bank account, the banking systems in some countries are growing increasingly sophisticated. Bankers from the Gulf hope that the middle class, particularly in the Muslim north, will turn to Islamic finance, and that firms will raise money through Islamic bonds, known as sukuk. Moody's, a credit-rating agency, reckons that although Islamic finance was worth a puny $18 billion at the end of last year, its potential is close to $235 billion—about half what it estimates as the GDP of Africa's Muslim population.

So far, forays from the Gulf into Africa have been limited to a few countries. Sudan—where only sharia-compliant finance is allowed in the north—dominates, holding over half of Africa's Islamic-banking assets. A number of Gulf banks, familiar with the country's language and oil resources, have joined forces with Sudanese investors to open Islamic banks. Last year the first sukuk from Africa was issued by a Sudanese cement firm. Reportedly, the government also tapped the market in January—selling bonds to Gulf investors to sidestep American economic sanctions over the massacres in Darfur.

But Sudan's banking industry remains embryonic and few African countries combine the strong desire to promote Islamic banking with heavy demand from Muslim customers. “Islamic banking is a luxury product,” admits Anouar Hassoune of Moody's: it tends to do better in places with established banking systems, such as South Africa and Kenya. South Africa's only Islamic bank, Albaraka, was set up in 1989. Last year the Kenyan authorities licensed two Islamic banks, Gulf African Bank and First Community Bank, both backed by Gulf investment.

Western banks are also dipping their toes in. In Kenya Barclays was the first to offer an Islamic bank account appropriately named La Riba, meaning “no interest”. South Africa's ABSA opened an Islamic banking division in 2006. It offers phone, internet and branch banking. Its head, Ahmed Moola, says the division was profitable last year, though he declines to discuss numbers. Turning towards Mecca: Islamic banks join the race for Africa >>> |May 8, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Mecca,

Western Banks Rush to Fill the Demand for Islamic Banking and Finance

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

This Video Shows How Islamic Economics Is in Direct Competition with Capitalism. It Will Eventually Bring the System Down!

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Islamic Banks ‘Are Making Their Mark’
GULF DAILY NEWS: MANAMA: A new report from a global strategic management consulting firm shows that Islamic banks are making their mark in non-Muslim countries.

The AT Kearney study reveals that these wholesale banks target a broad set of corporate, institutional and high net worth clients, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

While Sharia-compliant banking has traditionally focused on the GCC and Malaysia, there has recently been a dramatic increase in the number of Islamic banks outside the core markets, most remarkably in the UK, where the number of Islamic banks has more than doubled over the past 12 months.

At the same time, their products remain popular in their core markets, where Islamic banks consistently outgrow their conventional competitors.

"While Islamic banks in their core markets take a universal banking approach, with retail, corporate and investment banking business lines, they focus on wholesale banking in the UK," said AT Kearney Middle East manager of financial services Dr Alexander von Pock.

Assets in the Islamic banking sector grew to over $250 billion globally in 2006, according to the UK Treasury. Islamic Banks ‘Are Making [Their] Mark’ >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

A Muslim's Viewpoint: Bilal Philips - Interest and Islamic Banking

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

New Head of Islamic Banking Unit Appointed by Citigroup
HOT FINANCIAL NEWS!: Citigroup steps up its Islamic banking operations. It has appointed the former head of its Middle East debt capital markets group as its chief executive of business.

Samad Sirohey has become the head of Citi Islamic investment bank and the head of global investment banking.

Investment banks are redeploying much of their top talent to the Middle East, hoping to secure revenues from one of the fastest-growing regions in the world at a time when their more established businesses are struggling because of the credit crisis.

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Riyazi Farook: Islamic Banking and Finance

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Islamic Banking Heads West
ARABIAN BUSINESS.COM: A.T. Kearney report reveals Islamic finance doubled in the past year.

A new report from A.T Kearney, a global strategic management consulting firm, revealed that Islamic banks are making their mark on the financial markets of non-Islamic countries. While shaira-compliant [sic] banking has traditionally focused on the GCC and Malaysia, there has recently been a dramatic increase in the number of Islamic banks outside the core markets: most remarkably in the UK, where the number of Islamic banks has more than doubled over the past 12 months.



At the same time, they're products remain popular in their core markets, where Islamic banks consistently outgrow their conventional competitors. Assets in the Islamic banking sector grew to over $250 billion globally in 2006, according to the U.K Treasury. In the GCC, this segment expanded to 15 per cent of the total system and is expected to reach 50 per cent within the next few years.



The success at home enables these banks to export their business abroad, as Islamic banks from the GCC are the major shareholders behind all of the newly set-up Islamic banks in the UK. However, the strategic approach they take on differs between there and their home countries. Islamic Banking Heads West >>> | May 5, 2008

A T Kearney >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

UK

Islamic Banking Is Going Mainstream
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EMIRATES BUSINESS 24/7: Vince Cook, the CEO of The Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia) of Singapore, sees a strong Islamic finance industry in the region and works on bridging the gap between South East Asia and the GCC. For him, a key priority is to develop cross-border transactions within Asia and the Gulf with a view to securing a range of business, he told Emirates Business. 



What got you started in the Islamic financial services industry?

My first 24 years in banking were with Barclays, so I was basically associated with the British banking scene, so to say. Then they asked me if I was interested in looking at the overseas part of the business, and in 1987, I took my first Islamic banking project. That was my first exposure to the industry. 

At that time, the nature of the market was very different from what it is today. Since then, there has always been an element of Islamic banking with me. It was not a conscious decision but today it has become a very familiar field to me.

The elements of Islamic banking have always appealed to me. The social side of it, the business concern that underlines the use of money and the idea it is used for productive means are very important. Islamic finance has a close involvement with the community, which is remarkable. I strongly believe in all these things and enjoy them very much.



How would you describe the Islamic banking industry today, its atmosphere and current trends?

It's in the very early stages of development. A lot of players still question as to how we develop the business and how do we expand, as opposed to competing with each other head-on for market share. The game is about making the market bigger rather than fighting with each other for small percentages. 

In our case, based in Singapore, we are surrounded by huge potential markets with large Muslim populations. Investors are looking at different ways to structure the business. Islamic banks are a serious option for the very first time and if we look 20 years ahead and compare ourselves, we are very small today. Islamic Banking Is Going Mainstream >>> By Shuchita Kapur | April 29. 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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Islamic Banking: Legitimate Demand?
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ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Riyadh - The Islamic nation in all its stages has suffered under the weight of usury until recently since it had no other choice but to deal with the products of colonialism. Usury is a tool that was employed [by the occupational forces] to rob the nation of its resources and weaken its economy whilst creating a constant dependence on the capitalist system.

This was the case until a group of Muslims got together and with faith in the validity of Islamic Shariah and its suitability for situations regardless of time and place, took the responsibility upon themselves to find an alternative to the usury-reliant institutions. And thus, the Islamic banking system emerged and in the span of 30 years, such institutions recorded one success after the other and penetrated markets that had previously been impregnable.

And yet, there were some who viewed in this victory a defeat and attempted to sabotage the experiment. Under an economic pretext, they meticulously examined sources to find evidence to challenge and invalidate the legitimacy of Islamic banking – but came out empty-handed. All what they could argue, theoretically speaking, was that usury does not apply to paper currency because it cannot be valued against gold and silver.

Such people justified their claims by drawing on archaic and contemporary sources, in addition to some clerical opinions and the provisions of the monetary system – all of which were obsolete and could not be relied upon in this day and age. Meanwhile, prominent scholars and clerics have stated that paper currency could be valued against gold and silver.

According to the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the late Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Baz, "It is common knowledge among contemporary scholars that banknotes are valued against gold and silver [currency] since it [paper currency] gives commodities value and prices." Islamic Banking is a Legitimate Demand >>> By Lahem al Nasser | April 25, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)