Islamic finance has broken another barrier with news of the first European based and backed Islamic bond (sukuk) to be issued by the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The ?100 million of sukuks will be issued at the end of July. The bonds, which must comply with sharia?ah rulings, do not represent borrowing by the named entity, the most notable prohibition with sharia?ah compliance being the illegality of interest bearing accounts. A further complication is the existence of four schools of Islamic law which can provide differing interpretations on compliance.

Best bank

Royal Bank of Scotland

Best bank

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is writing to capital markets regulators in the Middle East to see whether its derivatives documentation can be used in Islamic jurisdictions.

With foreign players set to start investment banking operations in Saudi Arabia, local banks are confident that they can meet the challenge.

Linklaters has hired 15 new finance partners to boost its global finance practice.

Iran's State Tax Organization (STO) last month made its ambitions clear: in 2004/05 it is aiming to gather enough tax revenue to cover almost half of government expenditure. To achieve this it needs to record a 38% year-on-year increase in tax collection, or total revenues of almost $11 billion.

On February 25, the Bahrain Monetary Agency went on the road to sell a $250 million sukuk – Bahrain's first international Islamic bond. Bahrain's bond follows issues by Qatar and Malaysia. And the news that Citigroup is working with the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on an Islamic bond suggests that, as well as being used to boost the Islamic capital markets, sukuks can be commercially attractive to a broad audience.

After over two years of doom and gloom in the corporate finance job market, things finally are looking up.

In the Islamic awards section in January we mis-printed the name of Commerce International Merchant Bankers. Apologies.

Islamic banks have much potential to tap Islamic, ethical and conventional borrowers and investors. The key will be whether the industry can introduce the regulatory standards to reassure investors. Nigel Dudley reports.

Permal, part of French group Worms & Cie, announced last month that it had launched its first Islamic hedge fund.

New financial legislation and infrastructure in Dubai and Saudi Arabia give them the opportunity to challenge Bahrain's position as the Middle East's prime financial centre. Nigel Dudley reports.

An embarrassing and potentially damaging controversy is emerging in Islamic equity funds. Because of the way the vast majority have been handled by mainstream brokers, many may not be as Shariah-compliant as investing customers would expect.

A growing number of companies are realizing that there is a large pool of cash in the Islamic world that they may be able to tap into to diversify their funding sources and lower their financing costs. However, they must be willing to embrace Shariah-compliant structures.

After a weak 2001, most Arab banks enjoyed little pick-up in their fortunes in 2002. However, early results in 2003 suggest that the tide may be turning.

The Central Bank Governor of the Year and the Finance Minister of the Year awards will go live on September 19. Visit the site then to find out who won.

In the wake of September 11, the US authorities targeted informal financial networks serving people in the Islamic world for particularly severe treatment. One of these was called Barakkat, a cash-transmission network that linked expatriate Somalis living in the US with their impoverished home country. Barakkat was closed down less than a month after the outrage, causing enormous stress to the large expatriate Somali community in the US and their families in Somalia.

Issuer: Islamic Development Bank

With Islamic banking business growing faster than more conventional financial services, competition to provide new products is heating up.

Oman

Best bank - National Bank of Bahrain

Best bank - HSBC

Best bank - Mashreq Bank

Citigroup