Islamic home financing

INDONESIA: Bank Permata has launched a new Shariah financing scheme for the housing sector based on the Ijarah Muntahiyah Bittamlik concept. The product is said to be the first of its kind in Indonesia.

The bank expects the new scheme to increase Islamic home financing facilities by IDR200 billion (US$21.8 million) in the third quarter.
Home loans contribute 30% to Bank Permata’s Shariah banking unit’s total financing facilities, which rose 13% to IDR1.3 trillion (US$142 million) in the first quarter this year.

Its subsidiary, Permata Bank Syariah, has posted a 74% increase in its pre-tax profit to IDR26.4 billion (US$2.9 million) in the first quarter of 2010.

Touch points multiplied

MALAYSIA: Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) entered into an agreement with Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS) for the MEPS Interbank Giro payment system and shared ATM network services.

The agreement will increase KFH’s touch points from the current 17 ATMs to 9,000 nationwide.

The MEPS network is also linked to the region via its counterparts in China, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. MEPS plans to link to its counterparts in Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and other countries in the GCC to facilitate transactions for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.

Islamic banking goes mobile

UAE: Dubai Islamic Bank has launched the Al Islami Mobile Banking service. Available via a mobile based website, the service enables customers to check their account and card statements as well as providing facilities to open an investment account, request a new chequebook, and issue or cancel a card.

New offering

QATAR: Al Jazeera Finance has launched a new Shariah compliant open financing product. The new product assists customers in creating tailor-made credit packages using Murabahah, Musawwamah, Musharakah and other Islamic financing models that can fully service their financing requirements.

Branching out

QATAR: HSBC has decided to open a fully fledged Islamic banking branch in Doha.

The establishment of more branches is to follow based on an assessment conducted to identify demand in the sector.

The new HSBC Amanah branch will cater to all the Shariah compliant financial requirements of its customers.

Trust launch

KENYA: ApexAfrica Capital is set to launch a Shariah compliant unit trust. It is the first Shariah compliant equity product to make its presence in East Africa.

Each unit of this open ended mutual fund will be available for KES20,000 (US$248).

Law firm Hamilton Harrison & Mathews will advise ApexAfrica Capital on this issuance.