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COVER STORY |
Finding The Best Investment Route
There is more to Islamic investment instruments than equities and Sukuk, the Islamic Finance Asia team learns as it ponders other Shariah compliant investment routes that investors — Muslim and non-Muslim — can take to increase their coffers.
Currently, a large portion of Islamic assets are still locked in Islamic banks, an indication that investors have yet to fully explore investment options available in Islamic finance in managing and enhancing wealth.
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| FEATURES |
Infusing Shariah into Derivatives
Shariah equities and Sukuk are not getting the attention they probably deserve in the secondary markets today, despite growing interest in Islamic finance.
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What Makes a Company Shariah?
A common misconception of Shariah compliant companies is that they are free from products and services that are forbidden by Islamic law, such as pork, alcohol, gambling and usury. The reality is a bit more complex.
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Pinning Down the Real Islamic Hedge Fund
The dust has barely settled on the emergence of Islamic finance, which has taken the world by storm, and already, the flurry generated is creating an even bigger “bang” with the entry of more Shariah compliant products. One investment concept that is currently being debated is whether hedge funds can truly be Shariah compliant.
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Asian Regulators Making Headway
Governments in Asia are making inroads in Islamic finance. Malaysia, the country many consider to be the most advanced platform for Islamic finance, has moved up another notch.
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Are Islamic Indices the Way to Go?
Over the past few years, the global capital market scene has witnessed a barrage of Islamic indices, such as FTSE, Dow Jones, Standard & Poors and Moody’s. On issues ranging from standardization to screenings and what makes Islamic indices enticing.
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Keeping Up to Standard
“If you don’t know what ‘AAOIFI’ stands for, you must be new to the Islamic finance sector,” someone said, alluding to the synonymy of the standard setting body within the halal industry. The acronym is short for Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, an autonomous not-for-profit corporate body based in Bahrain.
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Why the secondary markets are not performing
Shariah equities and Sukuk are not getting the attention they probably deserve in the secondary markets today, despite growing interest in Islamic finance.
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| INTERVIEW |
Daiwa Bids Big in Japan |
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The enthusiasm for Islamic finance has certainly traversed far across the globe, even to a homogeneous nation like Japan, where its people are predominantly Shinto followers and Islam is almost an alien concept to the masses. Still, the growing interest among Japan’s corporate sector to tap into the massive Middle East liquidity pool has in a way encouraged authorities there to take the necessary measures in developing its nascent Islamic finance industry. |
| CASE STUDY |
Indonesia’s Maiden Government Sukuk
After much anticipation and deliberation, Indonesia finally issued its maiden rupiah-denominated government Sukuk in August. Despite news reports suggesting the sale of the bonds fell short, industry players said the IDR4.7 trillion (US$505.42 million) Sukuk was oversubscribed and that total issuance was IDR8 trillion (US$860 million), which was more than the targeted IDR5 trillion (US$537.61 million). |
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| EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW |
Hong Kong Harbors Halal Ambition |
 Asia’s financial powerhouse Hong Kong, lured by the massive liquidity pool in the Middle East, is taking all the necessary measures in deve-loping its own Islamic finance sector.
In fact, “Islamic finance” is becoming the new buzzword in its commercial scene. |
| SUPPLEMENTS |
Jostling for a Piece
of the Pie
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 Despite the vast differences in culture and lifestyle, Japan has shown keen interest in applying Islamic finance principles to its financial system. With the government and private sector throwing their weight behind the effort, the country might just give other contenders a run for their money
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| A Force to
be
Reckoned With |
 GCC countries, dubbed the Middle East financial force, are rapidly climbing their way to the world top financial centers list.
Although Egypt has been credited as the birthplace of modern Islamic finance in the early 1960s, it was the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that became the crucial financial force in giving the sector a much-needed push in transforming from niche market into mainstream industry.
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Malaysia’s leadership role in the development of the Islamic capital market (ICM) has been widely acknowledged, especially in establishing a robust regulatory framework and product innovation. A key strength in its product development capability is the undertaking of the Shariah compliance review of listed shares on Bursa Malaysia.