CORRECTED-TIMELINE-Defaults: Islamic finance

(Corrects July 13 entry to say "some of whose partners' accounts were frozen" instead of "whose accounts were frozen")

Nov 5 (Reuters) - A sukuk default by Kuwait's Investment Dar and debt restructuring at Saudi conglomerates have shaken confidence in the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry, fanning debate about investors' protection and investors' rights.

Billed as safer than traditional banking due to requirements for assets to underpin deals, Islamic bond holders worry they may not have any more legal safeguards than conventional counterparts in case of default, or perhaps even less, partly due to the untested nature of the process.

Debt restructurings at Saudi conglomerates Saad Group [SAADG.UL] and Algosaibi have put about $9.6 billion of investments at risk at 30 Gulf banks alone, and the fate of Dubai government-owned property firm Nakheel's $3.5 billion Islamic bonds, which mature in December, is being closely watched.

Here is a timeline of developments since late last year.

2008

Oct 16: Texas-based energy company East Cameron Gas, which had issued $166 million in sukuk in 2006, files for bankrupcty. A year later, the case to decide bondholders' rights was still before a U.S. court.

Dec 14: Kuwait's Investment Dar (TIDK.KW) Islamic investment firm shocks markets, saying it is considering selling up to 20 percent of luxury British carmaker Aston Martin, and may borrow up to $1 billion to refinance debt. [ID:nLE424729]

Dec 21: Kuwait's biggest investment bank, Global Investment House (GLOB.KW), downgraded by two ratings agencies a week earlier for allegedly failing to meet debt obligations, appoints HSBC as an adviser with foreign lenders. [ID:nLL438445]

2009

Jan 8: Global Investment House defaults on most of its debt. At end-September, it had short-term borrowings of 389.8 million dinars ($1.38 billion), its website said. Total liabilities stood at 806.7 million dinars. [ID:nL8123879]

May 12: Investment Dar, Global Investment House's main Islamic rival, defaults on a $100 million sukuk registered in Bahrain and in the United States. The group is the first Islamic Gulf company, and the second leading investment firm in oil-rich Kuwait, to announce a default on debt repayment. [ID:nLC281536]

June 2: Privately-held $30 billion Saudi company Saad Group [SAADG.UL] says it plans to restructure the debt of its units hurt by a liquidity squeeze brought on by the financial crisis. Ratings agency Moody's cuts its ratings on the group to junk status. [ID:nN0167288]

June 3: Credit agencies slash ratings for Saudi conglomerate Saad Group to default status or withdraw coverage altogether, saying Saad has ceased to pay creditors. [ID:nL3334708]

June 16: Saudi-based Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros Co (AHAB) says it is about to start talks with creditors, after reports it and Saad Group are seeking to restructure $10 billion in debt. [ID:nLG841566]