The prospect of higher yield in Australia is driving Islamic investors Down Under just as it is the broader global investment community, but the focus on capital-intensive industries is adding to its appeal for this source of funds.
Managers of two fledging Islamic funds set up in Australia in the past 18 months say they knew these factors presented opportunities, but they were still surprised by the level of interest from Islamic investors.
The Board of Taxation has submitted its final report into Australia's tax laws to ensure they do not inhibit the provision of Islamic finance, banking and insurance products, Parliamentary Secretary Bernie Ripoll has told the Amanie Australia Islamic Finance Forum in Melbourne.
The report was based on recommendations in the 2010 Johnson Report which offered policy options to better position Australia as a financial centre.
SGI-Mitabu, a consortium of two Brisbane solar companies, will finance its entire Indonesian solar power project using sharia-compliant financing, starting in July with an offshore-domiciled sukuk, or Islamic bond, a senior executive said.
The deal is set to be Australia's first issuance of sukuk, a market that expects global demand to reach $421 billion by 2016 from $240 billion in 2012, according to a Thomson Reuters report.
Australian fund manager Crescent Wealth launched the country's first Islamic pension fund, through a deal with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP), the company said on Monday.
Crescent Wealth aims to tap Australia's large pension industry, which had A$1.3 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in assets at the end of 2011, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
A Shariah-compliant forestry fund has been launched by Sustainable Capital which is based in Luxembourg in order to lure Islamic investors along with those interested in green investment.
Sydney: A Shariah-compliant forestry fund has been launched by Sustainable Capital which is based in Luxembourg in order to lure Islamic investors along with those interested in green investment.
The government of the Australian state of New South Wales, home to the country's financial capital Sydney, will send a group to Dubai this week to discuss ways to develop the Islamic finance industry, officials said.
The delegation, led by New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell and including financial services professionals, will explore regulatory and legal issues at a roundtable discussion with the Dubai Export Development Corp on Tuesday.
Islamic banking could help the Australian Government overcome infrastructure funding shortfalls, an Australian finance head says.
The head of Australia's first Islamic finance company, Talal Yassine, met with government ministers in Australia's capital, Canberra, this week.
Thomson Reuters is on the brink of giving Australia its first Islamic index.
Starting in early February, Thomson Reuters and Australia’s Crescent Wealth are jointly launching Islamic Australia Index — a research-based index that will offer local and international investors a tool to help invest in accordance with Islamic investment principles in the local market.
It’s every Islamic home financing company’s dream to become an Islamic bank, but it is not necessarily the dream of every community cooperative.
However, that is just what is about to happen to Australia’s MCCA as the building blocks are put in place to see the launch of Australia’s first Islamic retail bank catering to the needs of the domestic population – both Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The Federal Board of Taxation has received submissions following last year’s release of a Discussion Paper entitled “Review of the Taxation Treatment of Islamic Finance”.
Various stakeholders made contributions including: Australian law firms; accountancy firms; academics; individuals; industry bodies (ie the Financial Services Council, CPA Australia and a joint submission from the Tax Institute of Australia and the AFMA); and the Department of NSW Treasury and Department of Industry & Investment NSW. For details of the Discussion Paper see our previous
alert.
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