The Centre of Islamic and Contemporary World Studies and the International Info-vision Center for Training in Malaysia will organize the Forum on the Islamic Microfinance at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum during February 21 -23.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Centre of Islamic and Contemporary World Studies, Dr. Al-Saddig Ali Sayed Ahmed, said in a statement to SUNA that the forum will be held in the form of a comparative study on the microfinance experiments of Malaysia, Indonesia, Sudan, the Sultanate of Oman and Bangladesh, with a participation of experts from these countries.

He...

Takaful International Company achieved proportionate growth in total insurance contributions of five per cent to BD17.1 million ($45.35m) last year compared to the same period of 2010, which reached BD16.2m.

The total Takaful revenues rose to BD8.7m ($23m) from BD7.6m compared to the same period last year.

A growth of 19pc is reflected in the profit of insurance operations which have increased to BD3.8m compared to BD3.2m last year, while earnings per share improved by 19pc compared to last year.

"The financial results of the company state our ability to deal with all the variables...

Complete segregation of Islamic and conventional banking in Qatar “should reduce the risk of contagion” from one segment to the other in case banking troubles arise in either one, the International Monetary Fund has said in its country report.

A separate anaylsis by the IMF in its report on “Financial linkages across banks in Qatar” concluded that Qatari banks are interconnected, and called for “closer monitoring of cross-border exposures” of banks, and their domestic interbank exposures.

In February last"...

With both Islamic Development Bank Group and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) aspiring to expand bilateral ties in related fields, a high- profile delegation from the Islamic Development Bank Group visited PEIE to discuss ways to bolster co-operation yesterday.

The delegation comprised Dr Irfan Bukhari, Manager, Public Private Partnership Division/Infrastructure Department; Dr Husain Mogaibel, Acting Manager, Energy Division/Infrastructure Department; and Dr Mohammed al Wosabi, Senior Country Programme Manager for Oman.

Received by Eng Musallam al Shehri,...

Bayan Centre for Islamic Financial Engineering is organizing the 4th Session of Khartoum Forum on Islamic Financial Products next April in collaboration with the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, Khartoum Stocks Exchange and Basant International Institution.

The General Coordinator of the Forum, Ayman Yasin El-Imam, said to SUNA the session will be held under the theme of " Precautions and Risks" in the Islamic Financial Institutions with the participation of more than 50 Islamic Financial Institutions from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates,...

The draft Central Bank of Oman (CBO) guidelines for the Islamic banking and finance industry in the sultanate have elicited a mixed response from bankers.

Presented by consultants Ernst & Young (E&Y) to banks on behalf of the CBO, banking executives have praised the compliance safeguards, but have concerns with risk management.

BankMuscat, the largest financial services provider in the sultanate, commended the draft guidelines in a press release.

...

Net profit for 2011 increased to Dhs1.01bn, compared to a net profit before restatement of Dhs806m in 2010.

DIB's net profit for 2010 has been adjusted due to the restatement of the results of an associate company.

DIB's total assets as of December 31, 2011, stood at Dhs90.59bn compared to Dhs89.8bn at the end of the same period in 2010. The bank's customer base continued to expand in 2011, with customer deposits reaching Dhs64.77bn as of December 31, 2011, a year-on-year increase of 2.15.

The bank's core business grew in 2011, with income from financing and investing assets...

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has received a written message from Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, President of South Africa, on the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.

He thanked His Majesty for the hospitality accorded to him during his visit to the Sultanate last November and the good outcomes of the talks in terms of joint co-operation.

He affirmed that he is optimistic of the future of the bilateral co-operation.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has also received a written message from Nelson Mandela ex-president of South Africa.

The two messages were received...

The Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia) today announced two key senior appointments to drive the bank’s focus on investment banking and establish greater connectivity between the Middle East and Asia. Mr. Harish Parameswar is appointed Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking and will be based in IB Asia’s head office in Singapore. Mr. Saleh Al Nashwan joined IB Asia as the Chief Representative for its Bahrain Representative Office.

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Ahlibank will open Islamic banking branches across Oman under the Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services brand as soon as the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) gives its approval to start Sharia services, according to executives.

To be launched with an initial minimum capital of RO10mn, as stipulated by CBO, the branches will provide the full range of Islamic banking services and will be fully segregated from the conventional branches.

The Al Hilal brand, launched by Ahlibank's strategic partner Ahli United Bank, currently operates in the United Kingdom, Qatar and Bahrain.

Also present...