Zeti: Regional expansion key for Malaysia's Islamic banks
(Reuters) - Malaysia's Islamic banks need to expand further into Southeast Asia to play a greater role in the management of international Islamic bonds, or sukuk, Malaysia's Central Bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on Thursday.

Ireland's ESB considers sukuk issue in Malaysia
(Reuters) - Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is considering whether to become the first large non-financial company from Europe to sell Islamic bonds by issuing a sukuk in Malaysia.

QIB UK to launch first sukuk-linked note this month
(Reuters) - London-based QIB UK, a subsidiary of Qatar Islamic Bank, plans to launch two structured products this month including a note linked to a sukuk, its head of asset management told Reuters.

Indonesia's missing ingredient: Islamic finance
(IFR) - Indonesians often complain that neighbouring Malaysia is stealing their traditional dances and costumes for its tourism marketing. If they were to take something in return, however, they could do worse than replicate Malaysia's approach to Islamic finance.

Turkey embraces Islamic finance with sovereign sukuk
(Reuters) - Turkey's issue of its first sovereign sukuk this week paves the way for Turkish companies to raise money through Islamic bonds, and may help the country become a major market for Islamic investors from the Gulf and southeast Asia.

Jordan lawmakers clear way for sovereign sukuk
(Reuters) - A long-awaited law allowing Jordan to issue sukuk has been cleared by both houses of its parliament, paving the way for the government to tap strong global appetite for Islamic bonds as it tries to repair public finances.

Bahrain's takaful growth drops to single digits
(Reuters) - The growth of Bahrain's takaful (Islamic insurance) sector dipped to single digits in 2011 for the first time in a decade, while still outpacing growth in conventional insurance, according to data released on Sunday by the country's central bank.