Standard & Poor's has launched a fully investable S&P Pan Asia Syariah Index, the latest addition to the S&P Global Syariah Index Series.

The new index, which draws stocks from nine Asian markets in the S&P Citigroup Global Equity Index, will enable Islamic investors to benchmark their investment on a regional basis, and give product providers the opportunity to develop structured products tailored to the Islamic market.

A forum organized by the International Centre for Education in Islamic
Finance (INCEIF) and Tadhamon International Islamic Bank was held last
Thursday at the Mövenpick Hotel in Sana’a. The objective of the forum
was to highlight the developmental needs of the global Islamic
financial services industry, which is growing at an annual rate of
15-20 percent, according to the INCEIF. Participants in the forum
discussed the success of Malaysia in its multi-phase development of the

Investment bank HSBC is expecting to arrange the sale of up to $3 billion in Islamic bonds in the third quarter of this year, it has been reported.

Hissam Kamal Hassan, the bank's head of Islamic finance, said that the bonds, or sukuk, are to be sold in the Middle East for petroleum companies and utility firms.

He told Reuters: "We are expecting two to three transactions of international benchmark sizes. Issuers are both state-sponsored companies and private issuers."

Weekly wrap up of Islamic finance news from Dinar Standard.

Summary from Dinar Standard.