HSBC to offer Islamic mortgages

HSBC is to become the first UK high street bank to offer mortgages and current accounts designed to comply with Islamic law. The facilities will allow the almost two million Muslims in the UK to buy a house or use a mainstream bank without having to pay or receive interest, which is prohibited under Islamic law.
The bank will buy the property outright on the customer’s behalf and lease it back to them for an agreed term - usually 25 years, the same period as a traditional mortgage. The customer will then make monthly payments made up of rent and contributions towards the purchase price and become the owner after their final payment.

Taken From: http://www.business.scotsman.com/banking.cfm?id=719422003

Lord Mayor of London (designate) to give keynote address at ABC-sponsored conference

Robert Finch, Lord Mayor of London (designate) 2003-2004, and himself a celebrated real estate legal expert, will give the keynote opening address to delegates at the Islamic Real Estate Finance Conference 2003 in London from July 21 to 23, 2003.

Arab Banking Corporation, through itsLondon subsidiary ABCIB Islamic Asset Management Ltd (IAM), is key sponsors and contributors at this first of a kind event.

The composition of the conference speaking platform is evidence that Islamic financial institutions are at the forefront of investment and product innovation in real estate across the globe. They have demonstrated that real estate transactions structured on an Islamic financing basis can be as competitive and flexible as more traditional financing structures. Experts from Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai join top names from firms such as Jones Lang LaSalle, Credit Suisse and The International Monetary Fund to discuss a variety of real estate topics such as "The New Europe, Opportunities inPoland, Hungary and Czech Republic.

Taken From: http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/25756.html

Kuwait dispatches 24 tons of medicines to Iraq

Kuwait City,

The Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society continues its efforts in helping poor and needy families in the country, and in this connection recently distributed food parcels to 3,000 such families. Each parcel contains rice, sugar and cooking oil, plus some other essentials, and this distribution to the families takes at the end of each month. As for other relief efforts by the Society, the 21 batch of similar aid has been dispatched to the Nasiriye city of Iraq. The chairman of the Society’s Relief Committee, Yusuf Al-Mi’raj, has said that the consignment contains not only foodstuffs, but also medicines and other medical supplies, including 24 wheelchairs, adding that such convoys of aid to Iraq would continue to be organized by his Society.

Taken From: www.Islamicnews.org