In the past month, a number of achievements have been announced on a regional and global level with regards to the Islamic finance industry. The nature of the progress we are witnessing in this sector, especially in the MENA region, is remarkable as governments and regulators start to actively work on enhancing the regulatory and…
Forfeiture’ or ‘liquidated damages’ clauses feature in many commercial agreements, and more commonly in joint venture contracts in the oil and gas exploration and construction sectors. They are common in GCC contracts but the approach differs to common law jurisdictions. Most construction contracts contain a provision for liquidated damages to be paid in the event of…
The past month witnessed the announcement of several pieces of groundbreaking news fostering the growth and presence of Shariah compliant products in the Middle Eastern market. The latest developments are pushing hard at the limits and boundaries of the Islamic finance industry as serious new players are coming on board. Goldman Sachs Sukuk: Goldman Sachs…
The international nature of recent developments presents challenges not only to regulators, but also to legal systems. This first edition of Insurance & Reinsurance Law & Regulation is an essential reference guide for corporations, financial institutions and legal professionals. Covering more than 19 major jurisdictions worldwide, it provides a clear overview of the regulations and…
The Islamic financial market has seen continuous growth in the past few years, particularly in the use of sukuk. As this debt instrument is carving itself a prominent place in the international financial market and competing with conventional debt products, we have dedicated this article to shed light on the concept of sukuk, how it…
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) officially published the final version of its ‘Standard for Issuing, Acquiring, and Trading Sukuk’ on the 2nd April 2014. The first of its kind, it is a comprehensive standard aimed at enhancing the regulatory environment of Islamic finance. This complements the ‘Standard for Issuing, Acquiring, and Trading of Shares’ published…
Rima Mrad and Nadim Bardawil of BSA discuss the main factors contributing to the growth of the Middle Eastern (re)insurance market. The insurance and reinsurance industry in the Middle East region is witnessing growth at a noticeable rate. The insurance legislations in many Middle Eastern countries are being reviewed or have recently been reviewed with…
Cyrille Naffah, senior associate at the Saudi office of BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP, reports on a Saudi Arabian resolution to establish a new commercial arbitration centre in Riyadh that will oversee the activities of all arbitration providers in the kingdom and their compliance with its new arbitration law. In line with its…
Islamic finance is part of the sevenpillared plan to make Dubai a global capital of Islamic industry, economy and finance. There have been several recent developments and initiatives undertaken in order to achieve this objective, which was declared last year by Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Maktoum, the prime minister and vice-president of the UAE, and the…
The practice of retaining a percentage of the risk and local or legal cession is done in order to develop the local market to become fair and competitive. In contrast to retention requirements, which impose a percentage of risk insurers need to retain themselves, local cession is usually imposed by regulators as a way to…