Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and RBS finance the UK pub party.

Arcapita has been named best Islamic private equity house in recognition of its leading position in the world of international shariah-compliant private equity. The firm was created in 1997 and currently employs more than 140 people in its offices in Bahrain, Atlanta and London.

Although Takaful Malaysia remains a major player in the field of shariah-compliant insurance, offering some 117 types of general takaful schemes, it is primarily focused on southeast Asia. In contrast, the winner of this year’s award, HSBC Amanah, has a global reach. It now offers general takaful products to both its retail and corporate clients in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK, via a combination of its own manufacturing capability and white labelling. The general takaful offering was only initiated in late 2004, however, meaning that volumes are still small.

This year’s winner is Denton Wilde Sapte, while 2005’s winner, Norton Rose, came a close second. Denton Wilde Sapte has dedicated Islamic finance teams in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London, and its client list includes ABC Islamic, ABN Amro, ADIB, Amlak Finance, BarCap, DIB, DB, GIB, HSBC Amanah, KFH, Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, WestLB and Shamil Bank.

In a year characterized by innovation in Islamic finance, Deutsche Bank stands out. A new structure based on the wa’s contract has allowed the bank to introduce novel shariah-compliant asset classes and pay-offs and to make possible most derivatives, such as interest rate swaps, currency swaps and options.

Iqbal Khan, the founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, is one of the most powerful and successful financiers in the Gulf region. He is also a board member of HSBC Bank Middle East, HSBC Investment Bank in Saudi Arabia and Saudi British Bank.

Leading international management consultancies have traditionally topped this category, with past winners including Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers. This year, although KPMG was an impressive challenger, Euromoney recognizes the work of local specialist Dar Al Istithmar.

The Cagamas R$2.05 billion ($542.5 million) Islamic residential mortgage backed sukuk (IRMBS) Musharakah, the world’s first rated IRMBS, brought a new asset class to Islamic finance. Cagamas MBS Berhad (CMBS), a single purpose and wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s national mortgage corporation, appointed CIMB, HSBC Amanah, ABN Amro and AmMerchant as joint lead managers for the August 2005 deal.

Bahrain-based Noriba snatched this year’s award, narrowly beating the 2005 winner, Gulf Financial House. Noriba, which was incorporated in 2002, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Switzerland’s UBS Group. According to CEO Toufic Kanafani, the bank’s investor base is international, with clients from the Gulf region, the wider Middle East, the US, Europe and South East Asia.

CIMB Islamic’s Islamic profit rate swap (IPRS), a shariah-compliant version of an interest rate swap, opens up a new field in Islamic finance. According to Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, the bank’s head, the IPRS was launched in December 2005 under the purview of Malaysia’s central bank.

Noriba exits some investments early after strong performance.

Middle Eastern private investment and advisory firm Injazat Capital is launching a $100 million Islamic-compliant healthcare fund this month.

The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) has set itself an ambitious target, according to its chairman.

Saudi and Qatari banks launch new investment products. National Commercial Bank has become only the second Saudi Arabian financial services provider to launch a Shariah-compliant mutual fund that will invest in the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The UAE's financial regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority, announced on September 6 that the case of two individuals and a brokerage suspected of manipulating the stock price of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) had been referred to the judiciary.

%3CBODY%3E%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EChina%20pushes%20into%20North%20America%20%u2013%20again%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Not%20to%20be%20put%20off%20by%20Chinese%20oil%20major%20CNOOC%27s%20failure%20to%20seize%20control%20of%20US%20oil%20company%20Unocal%2C%20China%20National%20Petroleum%20Corporation%2C%20China%27s%20biggest%20state-owned%20oil%20company%2C%20paid%20%244.18%20billion%20to%20acquire%20Canadian%20oil%20company%20PetroKazakhstan%2C%20a%2020%25%20premium%20to%20where%20the%20stock%20was%20trading.%20The%20company%27s%20shares%20are%20traded%20in%20New%20York%20and%20its%20oil%20fields%20are%20in%20the%20north%20of%20Kazakhstan.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20The%20deal%20has%20to%20be%20approved%20by%20the%20Kazakh%20government%2C%20and%20could%20be%20scuppered%20by%20a%20counter-bid.%20However%2C%20if%20it%20is%20successfully%20completed%2C%20it%20will%20be%20the%20largest%20overseas%20acquisition%20to%20date%20by%20a%20Chinese%20company.%20CNOOC%20withdrew%20its%20%2418.5%20billion%20offer%20for%20Unocal%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20August%20after%20strong%20opposition%20from%20the%20US%20government.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3ETakeover%20Panel%27s%20new%20director%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Mark%20Warham%2C%20head%20of%20UK%20mergers%20and%20acquisitions%20at%20Morgan%20Stanley%2C%20has%20been%20chosen%20to%20be%20the%20next%20director%20of%20the%20Takeover%20Panel%2C%20the%20body%20that%20regulates%20M%26A%20activity%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20He%20will%20take%20a%20two-year%20secondment%20from%20Morgan%20Stanley%20to%20take%20up%20the%20new%20role%20at%20the%20end%20of%20November.%20He%20is%20the%20first%20Morgan%20Stanley%20banker%20to%20hold%20the%20post%2C%20replacing%20Richard%20Murley%20of%20Goldman%20Sachs.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EGMAC%20sells%2060%25%20of%20its%20mortgages%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20GMAC%2C%20the%20finance%20subsidiary%20of%20General%20Motors%2C%20has%20announced%20that%20it%20will%20sell%2060%25%20of%20its%20commercial%20mortgage%20business%2C%20GMAC%20Commercial%20Holding%20Corporation%2C%20to%20private-equity%20groups%20KKR%2C%20Five%20Mile%20Capital%20Partners%20and%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Capital%20Partners.%20GMACCH%20wants%20an%20independent%20credit%20rating%2C%20superior%20to%20that%20of%20its%20parent%2C%20to%20give%20it%20access%20to%20cheaper%20funding.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%3C/BODY%3E%0D%0A

Six-month paper will help investors diversify Shariah-compliant portfolios

From quiet beginnings as one of the world's smallest states, Qatar has emerged as a regional player as a result of shrewd investment in natural gas and sound economic management. Although oil and gas revenues still account for about 60% of GDP, the non-oil sector grew by 10.8% last year, and the financial sector is performing particularly strongly.

Sabic's upcoming $267 million Shariah-compliant domestic bond should set the pattern for issuance in a Saudi market that has seen little corporate paper up to now.

As tensions mount between Iran and the west over the Islamic state's nuclear ambitions, Tehran seems to be adopting an Ostpolitik, looking to China and India for political and energy ties. Opec's second-largest oil producer, which also has the world's second-biggest gas reserves, is wooing Asia's fast-growing and energy-hungry economies.

As a new president takes office in Iran and deadlock hits talks with the European Union over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, investors are pondering whether they should enter an economy that might soon be subject to sanctions.

Iranian shipping company NITC is a rarity: it's one of the few non-oil and gas companies in the Islamic Republic seeking funds in the international markets.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz reforms Malaysia's financial markets; Fukui achieves much by doing llittle in Japan.

The woman who has run the central bank since 2000 has overseen reform of the exchange rate, the capital markets and the banking industry. With her encouragement the country has also become a hub for Islamic finance.

Qatar has become a centre of project finance expertise as the government pursues big industrial and infrastructure projects. Skills have spread from foreign banks to local institutions and are being used in the whole region.

Fund management:

BEST BANK

BEST BANK

BEST BANK