This book focuses on the applicability of Shari'ah-based structures and Islamic venture capital to the private equity industry. It includes case studies and examples of business financial appraisals to give an in-depth view of the application and operatio

This book is the 1st English language contribution to the global Islamic finance literature which is focused solely on Islamic private equity. Given the success of conventional private equity players and their demise during the credit crisis, it is instructive for executives of all levels to see how Islamic private equity can assist their businesses while avoiding the faultlines that led to recent demise of the conventional private equity system. Shariah-Compliant Private Equity, comprised of 10 chapters and 20 private equity case studies, is designed for the executive who wishes to access Shari'a-compliant private equity, launch a private equity fund, convert an existing fund into an Islamic equivalent, identify potential partners in the global private equity space, or simply to understand more about this type of private equity. In a broad yet detailed sweep of Islamic private equity, this book answers critical questions about the current private equity industry: The history of Islamic private equity and its relevance to the contemporary, post-crisis global economy. The closeness of Islamic private equity and de-leveraged conventional private equity. How to establish an Islamic private equity fund. How one conducts due diligence in Islamic private equity (with sample document checklist and Shari'a screens). What role Islamic private equity can play in fostering the environmental revolution. How basic business issues like information technology and insurance play out in Islamic private equity firms. How entrepreneurs craft business plans to appeal to the Shari'a-sensitive investor or investment firm. The case studies in the book bring these questions, and their potential answers, to life. There are several case studies, both actual and potential, on connecting Middle Eastern private capital with promising opportunities in the Western World and emergent China, 'the Middle Kingdom.' By way of example, there is a case study on a new Islamic private equity firm focused on financial services worldwide, which was seeded by sovereign wealth funds, specialist investment vehicles and high-net worth individuals. There is a case study on a plan to save the Big 3 U.S automakers, using Islamic private equity and sukuk, on the heels of a Vatican article which stated sukuk could be used to save the ailing car industry and finance the Olympic Games in London. There are also practical case studies on small businesses like restaurants seeking private equity funding and more whimsical studies on the buying and selling of polo ponies.

Understand the aspects of structuring and investing by learning from more than 20 leading experts in the field of Islamic finance from across the globe and across the world of Islamic Asset Management.

Risk-sharing investment is currently the buzz word in Islamic finance. However, there is an incongruence in applying multilayered and opaque Tijarah contracts for investment purposes. This has contributed to the divergence between Shariah and Common Law and caused tremendous problems and systemic legal risks to Islamic finance. The authors of Shariah Investment Agreement introduce a legal tool in the form of a Shariah Investment Agreement carefully drafted to ensure that it is Shariah-compliant and can be applied in Common Law jurisdictions as well, so as to allow for the execution of risk-sharing investment in Islamic finance. It details the building blocks and key considerations that must be noted when drafting such agreements so the investor and investee will know what to expect when entering into such a contract. Proper implementation of the Shariah Investment Agreement will pave a clear route to a harmonious convergence between Shariah and Common Law and lead to Islamic finance developing further to become a stronger, unstoppable force in the finance industry.

Diploma Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: Sehr gut, University of Vienna (Universität Wien), course: Macro Economics and Finance, language: English, abstract: The literature discusses Islamic investment funds and hedge funds as isolated issues. At present not much work is known, comparing these two very prominent alternative investment forms. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by providing a first insight into both and also tries to answer the following question: Can Islamic investment funds catch up with hedge funds? For this, the thesis compares Islamic investment funds and hedge funds on the basis of different factors, trying to answer three sub questions: What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Are there differences and/or similarities between the two? How can an investment portfolio including both be balanced? As will be seen throughout the thesis, Islamic investment funds provide a handfull of advantages over hedge funds, even enabling the former to outperform the latter. Hedge funds rely mainly on gaining advantage through market inefficiencies, hedging the market risk through short-term opportunities. This construction puts the fund manager into a high risk position with high profit potential. Despite investment restrictions under Islamic law, a fund manager is not prohibited from facilitating hedge funds by these restrictions. The main difference is that Islamic investments offer more risk control by cooperative arrangements. This characteristic enables an investor to cover the risk of hedge funds by investing in Islamic investment funds. Nevertheless, such differences raise the issue of whether it is sensible to invest solely in Islamic investment funds or hedge funds. [...]