Sdr Delil yth, terima kasih atas kiriman article nya.
Ries Woodhouse Geneva
>From: Delil Khairat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: [RantauNet] Western funds find faith in Islamic investing
>Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 16:03:45 +0000 (GMT)
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>Assalamualaikum,
>
>Berita tiga minggu lalu dari The Financial Times, insyaallah belum basi.
>
>Wassalam,
>
>Delil
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>Western funds find faith in Islamic investing
>By James Mawson
>Published: February 24 2002 15:50 | Last Updated: February 24 2002 17:08
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>US and European fund managers running specialist Islamic funds held their breath after the architects of the September 11 attacks on the US were found to be Islamic extremists. It was feared that they would be caught up in the worldwide hunt for the secret sources of terrorist money.
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>Yet, nearly six months on, as Muslims from around the world gather in Mecca for their hajj, the fund managers - who manage the funds on behalf of banks in the Middle East and South East Asia - are anticipating something of a revival. HSBC, the UK-listed bank, which has $3bn (£2bn) assets under management and three Islamic funds, is predicting growth of assets under management of up to 40 per cent this year.
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>It was not until 1996 that the Fiqh Academy of scholars in Jeddha, which rules on a permissible code of conduct for Muslims, permitted the launch of the first Islamic equity funds.
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>However, some fund managers keen to tap into the potentially lucrative market of 1.5bn Muslims and more than $100bn of assets had already jumped the gun. The first mutual fund was launched by Kleinwort Benson in 1986, followed by the Al-Ahli International Trade fund in 1987 - both were launched without the official seal of approval.
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>Today, market-leaders include HSBC, Citigroup, the US banking group, Wellington, the US specialist, and Permal, the subsidiary of Worms & Cie, the Swiss-based bank.
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>Under Sharia law, which governs the lives of the followers of Islam, investors are not allowed to hold stakes in banks or insurance companies because they are usurious. Nor are they allowed to buy the shares of companies whose main business is alcohol, pork, defence, gambling or entertainment.
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>Yet there are disagreements among scholars about what is halal, or lawful. Notably, there is a divide between the Middle East, where there is a strict interpretation of Sharia law, and South East Asia.
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>The regions take different approaches to debt, with Malaysia, in particular, allowing non-asset backed securities.
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>Early on, these disagreements stemmed the flow of new money into the funds. The pioneers, who had licked their lips at the prospect of winning a lucrative slice of the potentially huge market, were disappointed by the scholarly squabbles.
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>But, according to Iqbal Kahn, chief executive officer of HSBC's Dubai-based Amanah finance division, the recent standardisation work of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, a Bahrain body, has narrowed the differences and encouraged new sales of Islamic fund products.
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>This has given fund managers new hope of a revival of Islamic investing. So too has the growing interest of non-Muslim investors. In Egypt, members of the Coptic Church, the Christian minority, use Islamic funds. In Malaysia, one of the world's largest Muslim nations, roughly 20 per cent of investors in Islamic funds are Chinese.
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>In these cases, investment is not strictly based on financial criteria. According to Mr Kahn, non-Muslim investors buy into Islamic funds out of goodwill for their host country and a desire to fit in. Sometimes, too, there are tax advantages for investing.
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>But there are also financial opportunities. The FTSE Global Islamic index, which tracks 912 companies, was launched at the start of 1999 on 47.30 points. Last week it was at about 83.00, after rebounding from a dip suffered after September 11.
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>Stella Cox, director of Dawney Day, a UK niche investment boutique, and fellow of the London-based Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, estimates that there is up to $5bn in more than 100 authorised Islamic investment funds. Of this, 60 per cent is put into equities screened for compliance with Sharia guidelines. The rest, for the most part, is invested in property or cars, which are then leased to customers under a fee system called Ijara.
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>The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington have not dented fund managers' plans for new funds.
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>In the aftermath, several Islamic funds were launched, including Mutajarah, a fund of hedge funds from Towry Law Asset Management, a Malaysia-based subsidiary of AMP, the Australian insurer.
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>Al-Rajhi, Saudi Arabia's largest pure Islamic finance bank, wants to capitalise on its reputation by launching a Luxembourg-based Islamic fund.
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>This is giving new hope to Islamic fund management specialists. Mr Kahn says: "If the market rises and institutions and [government's] investment authorities take more of a leap into Islamic funds, then we could see growth of up to 40 per cent this year.
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>"If everything does not go so well, then this could be nearer 15 to 20 per cent."
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>
>Delil Khairat
>London Guildhall University
>84 Moorgate
>London
>Mobile: +44 77 89 202 204
>Home: +44 20 899 50 435
>
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