Arab Renaissance may help their Asians Cousins along.

The Rising of Arab Renaissance and in turn Islamic Finance may help Islamic centers like Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Nigeria ......

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=440371&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28

Arabian Gulf banks say they are more ready to accept Asian Islamic debt as Shariah-compliant, allowing them to invest in a market that has issued twice as much sukuk as the Middle East this year.

Last year, Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Group helped Cagamas Bhd, Malaysia's largest mortgage holder, structure a sukuk after Gulf investors balked at debt sold by the same issuer in 2009.

The co-operative approach is a change for investors from the Gulf who are seeking to diversify their investments amid political upheaval in the Middle East. It may also help Malaysia to raise more funds from oil-rich nations to support a 10-year $444bn development plan announced last year.

Middle East and Asian financial institutions have a better understanding of each other's regulatory framework so we are more comfortable with exposure to Asian credits

Sales of sukuk from Asia have amounted to $5bn so far this year, more than double the $2.2bn from the Gulf, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Malaysia accounts for about 60% of the global Islamic debt market. Issuance of ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds increased 70% to 13.9bn ringgit ($4.6bn) this year, the data show. Malaysia and Indonesia plan to issue sovereign global Islamic bonds in 2011.

"We've been discussing with Malaysian companies how to take advantage of the infrastructure projects in Qatar," he said on June 4. "There's abundant liquidity in the Middle East for these companies to tap. Malaysian firms would need to structure the sukuk and loans to meet the Shariah standards required by the scholars in that region."

The lack of standardisation has hindered growth in the Islamic finance industry, which has around $1tn of assets and is expanding by about 15% a year, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board. Scholars at the Auditing and Accounting Organisation of Islamic Financial Institutions, a standard-setting body based in Manama, are making efforts to develop global rules for the industry.

Qatar plans to spend $88bn on building roads, hotels and other infrastructure before it hosts the soccer world cup in 2022, QNB assistant general manager Enrico Grino, who oversees project finance, said on May 16.
Malaysian companies seeking to win contracts in Qatar may need to raise funds in the Middle East, Mohamed Azahari Kamil, Kuala Lumpur-based chief executive officer at Asian Finance Bank, said in an interview.
"We've been discussing with Malaysian companies how to take advantage of the infrastructure projects in Qatar," he said on June 4. "There's abundant liquidity in the Middle East for these companies to tap. Malaysian firms would need to structure the sukuk and loans to meet the Shariah standards required by the scholars in that region."