Category: Finance
Islamic Finance Programs at Leading OIC B-Schools
Given the growing demand for Islamic Finance talent, a number of Business Schools based in the OIC are offering Islamic Finance related courses or full degree programs. From the list of the 50 Leading B-Schools of the OIC, 6 are offering full Islamic Finance related degree/ diploma programs (4 of these are Malaysia based.) Another [...]
A Look at the first ever Halal Food Investable Index
For all those who have wondered when and how the $1 trillion+ Islamic Finance industry and the estimated $640 billion+ world-wide ‘Halal’ food industry will ever connect—we hopefully now have a tool that will kick this off. SAMI Index key criteria: Nation: Member of OIC countries Business Activity: Restaurants, Beverages – Non-alcoholic, Fishing, Farming, Food [...]
Transaction Banking and the growing significance of Treasury Services
As the world reeled from the financial crisis brought on by the reckless behavior of Wall Street, and a profusion of toxic investment instruments in the market, one area of finance was on the rise – Transaction Banking. This low risk, high profit business has gained even more attention in recent years as banks have [...]
Uprisings and Islamic Finance
When a country has a (r)evolutionary upheaval, like the one Egypt has just experienced, it certainly changes the dynamics and growth prospects of Islamic finance in that country. The critical question is, which country will come out as a winner and which will come out as a loser?
Qatar ban on Islamic Banking windows: Good or bad?
Early in February, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) issued a circular declaring it ‘has been decided to terminate the activities of Islamic finance services’ offered by conventional banks. Banks with Islamic windows have until end of 2011 to comply with the requirement. (See background below). The reasoning behind the decision has been the subject of [...]
Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists in Turkey
As an entrepreneur having gone through angel and venture capital (VC) funding stages for my technology start-ups, I have a special interest in developments of the VC world. I started hearing about increasing amount of investment activities mainly in the information technology (IT) field in my home country Turkey although small and medium enterprises (SME) [...]
Book Review: Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance (McGrawHill)
In Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance (GC & IF), The Rise of the New Global Players, Aamir A. Rehman, author of Dubai and Co: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States, breaks down the increasingly relevant topics of Gulf capital and Islamic finance. Thorough and lucid, Rehman’s book may serve as a comprehensive [...]
Rushdi Siddiqui – A Pioneer in Islamic Finance’s Global Prominence
Mr. Rushdi Siddiqui is an Industry pioneer who has led the way of Islamic Finance’s integration with global financial platforms.
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) – a Financial Institution with Meaningful Impact
The experience of walking the halls of the impressive 21-story Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and its surrounding IDB Group buildings is unlike any in the world. Finance professionals hailing from seemingly every corner of the Muslim markets – from Malaysia, Indonesia to Kazakhstan and Turkey; from Pakistan, Bangladesh to Algeria, [...]
Missing Link in Islamic Finance Hubs: Islamic Venture Capital
The Islamic world profiled modalities of capitalism in 8th/9th century, but today’s Muslim country Islamic finance hubs are missing two vital aspects: addressing ‘have nots’ (micro-finance), and deploying the funds of ‘haves’ into Islamic VC funds. My focus in this article is on the latter–interplay between risk capital and innovative ideas for strategic localised benefit. [...]
