SAUDI ARABIA: Fitch affirms Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation’s long-term issuer default rating at ‘A-’ with stable outlook
OMAN: Oman’s Capital Market Authority amends insurance and Takaful laws to separate health insurance from other insurance types
MALAYSIA: RAM reaffirms SPR Energy’s RM580 million (US$140.09 million) senior Sukuk Ijarah at ‘AA3’ with negative outlook
MALAYSIA: MARC assigns final rating of ‘AAIS’ to S P Setia’s RM3 billion (US$724.62 million) Islamic medium-term note program
UAE: UAE Islamic banks’ assets grow 5% in 2020, central bank’s latest financial stability report says
UAE: Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies signs MoU with National Bonds to develop learning solutions and programs
GLOBAL: African Entrepreneur Collective’s business development support and loans yield 15,000 new jobs and US$27 million in new revenue to date
AUSTRALIA: Hejaz Financial Services eyes banking license from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
BANGLADESH: Contour launches trade finance network to allow Bangladeshi SMEs to speed up letter of credit processing times
KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank now available to customers via Apple Business Chat
BANGLADESH: Chittagong Stock Exchange revises CSE Shariah Index; includes 13 new companies
MALAYSIA: MBSB Bank eyes 3% growth in revenue for 2021
GLOBAL: IsDB signs MoU with Maastricht School of Management to collaborate on global value chain analysis
PAKISTAN: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan introduces draft regulatory framework for digital-only insurers and microinsurers
INDONESIA: Otoritas Jasa Keuangan admits shares of Triniti Dinamik into Shariah securities list
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk auctions two Islamic commercial papers totaling RM180 million (US$43.48 million)
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two short-term Islamic papers
MALAYSIA: Bermaz Auto sells RM100 million (US$24.15 million) Islamic commercial paper
GLOBAL: Ahli United Bank’s US$600 million Tier 1 capital certificates admitted to trading on NASDAQ Dubai
IRAQ: Alnahrain Islamic Bank launches financing product for purchase and construction of housing
MALAYSIA: Maju Expressway suspends repayment of RM50 million (US$12.14 million) Islamic medium-term note due to ongoing restructuring exercise
BAHRAIN: National Bank of Bahrain supports construction of Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance’s new campus
JORDAN: Islamic International Arab Bank launches children’s savings account product
SAUDI ARABIA: Mediterranean and Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Company’s board of directors amends increase in share capital
UAE: Sharjah Islamic Bank opens new branch in Abu Dhabi Mall
OMAN: Muscat Stock Exchange releases list of 28 companies meeting Shariah compliance and AAOIFI standards for first quarter of 2021
BAHRAIN: Ithmaar Holding and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait conclude first phase of due diligence for acquisition deal
EGYPT: Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority expects three Sukuk requests after Eid Al-Adha
MALAYSIA: AmInvest launches new Sukuk fund focused on local issuances and Islamic money market instruments
MALAYSIA: RAM Ratings Chief Rating Officer Siew Suet Ming joins IFN as new correspondent for Malaysia
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Public Pension Agency to merge with General Organization for Social Insurance
MALAYSIA: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation welcomes Ruslena Ramli as director of fintech and Islamic digital economy
SAUDI ARABIA: Andreas Brunner resigns as executive board member of Allianz Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Co
MALAYSIA: S P Setia issues two-tranche Sukuk totaling RM800 million (US$194.17 million)
PAKISTAN: Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company partners with Habib Bank to issue Sukuk worth PKR1 billion (US$6.36 million)
BAHRAIN: Venture Capital Bank records net loss of US$1.8 million during second quarter of 2021
MALAYSIA: Tabung Haji could issue Sukuk in international markets
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk places RM115 million (US$27.91 million) Islamic commercial paper
MALAYSIA: Sabah Credit Corporation sells RM150 million (US$36.41 million) Islamic commercial paper
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Ministry of Finance closes June 2021 Sukuk offering worth SAR8.27 billion (US$2.2 billion)
INDONESIA: Indonesia raises IDR10 trillion (US$699.52 million) from Sukuk auction
GAMBIA: Central Bank of Gambia’s auction featuring three Sukuk Salam papers oversubscribed
TURKEY: Turkiye Emlak Katilim Bankasi auctions lease certificates worth TRY250 million (US$29.18 million)
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues three Shariah papers totaling RM19.75 billion (US$4.79 billion)
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi fintech company Forus hires Shariyah Review Bureau to certify Shariah compliance of crowdfunding activity
UAE: Dubai Islamic Bank donates AED6.5 million (US$1.77 million) in Zakat to Emirates Red Crescent programs
IRAN: Iran closes fourth auction with no bonds sold; announces fifth auction for 22nd June 2021
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Real Estate Company still finalizing termination and liquidation of Alinma Real Estate Fund
GLOBAL: Oxford Business Group supports IFN events as media partner
EGYPT: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank-Egypt partners with two fintech companies to launch prepaid card for unbanked
There were landmark Sukuk offerings this week across the board from sovereigns such as Turkey, corporates like Saudi’s ACWA and banks such as Dubai Islamic Bank and Ahli United Bank. New fintech initiatives unfolded while new regulations were revealed and...
The UAE has barely seen a trickle of Sukuk issuance in 2021, and what there is has been primarily Tier 1 capital issuance. There are rumblings in the market that the bottleneck is all because...
Rules matter. And they could either facilitate or stifle one’s growth. It is the same in Islamic finance. In a two-part special, we are exploring how global Islamic finance standard-setting body AAOIFI’s Shariah Standard 59...
Kuwait’s Ahli United Bank (AUB) has made a return to the international Islamic capital market with a US$600 million Sukuk issuance — almost five years since its US$200 million Islamic paper issued in 2016. NESSREEN...
Oman taps the dollar Sukuk market while Turkey prepares its international offering as Indonesia lists its successful US$3 billion Sukuk for trade. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign...
As one of Africa’s Islamic finance pioneers, Kenya has had a head start over its neighbors, but the past few years have been quiet for the country’s Shariah industry. NESSREEN TAMANO writes an overview of...
The Islamic banking sector, particularly emerging Islamic finance markets, benefits from legal frameworks established by regulators, making it an essential pillar of the Islamic finance industry. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up the latest developments in the...
With the Muslim world celebrating Eid in the month of May, Islamic financial institutions, corporates and governments ramped up activities, tapping Sukuk, launching new products and issuing new regulations. IFN reviews the top Islamic finance...
The Islamic Finance news Awards honor the best in the Islamic financial industry and are one of the most prestigious awards highly recognized by the global Islamic capital markets. These awards continue to be an apt representation of the current Islamic financial market landscape.
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)’s latest international senior Sukuk offering worth US$1 billion has achieved the lowest pricing closed by the bank in its history. The landmark issuance, which carries a tenor of five years and...
GLOBAL: In the first three months of 2021, global Sukuk volumes jumped 21.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to US$42.3 billion, despite choppy market conditions due to COVID-19, with Malaysia and Indonesia making great strides while the GCC...
UAE: Asset management company SHUAA Capital is gunning to capture the digital-savvy millennial and affluent investors of the Middle East. To do so, it has set up a stand-alone fintech platform, and tapped an ex-Visa...
The IsDB’s Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has, along with two software development companies, formed a consortium to develop a new financial literacy platform powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence...
Oman taps the dollar Sukuk market while Turkey prepares its international offering as Indonesia lists its successful US$3 billion Sukuk for trade. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Turkey After...
Surya Timur Alam Raya Asset Management (STAR-AM) has debuted its first Islamic fund, the STAR Sharia Money Market Fund, aiming to play a role in the development of Indonesia’s capital market. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY has more....
Shariah non-compliance risk (SNCR) is now a mandatory component of the overall risk management framework of Islamic banking institutions in Pakistan as the regulator seeks to bolster soundness of the fast-growing sector. VINEETA TAN has...
Local financial institution Yonna Forex Bureau, which has a special focus on Islamic financial products and services including Takaful, has launched Yonna Islamic Microfinance, the Gambia’s first fully-fledged Shariah compliant microfinance institution. NESSREEN TAMANO writes....
With online payments surging during the pandemic, the Malaysian regulator is taking measures to regulate e-money, including within an Islamic finance context. VINEETA TAN writes. Malaysians have taken to digital channels for payments in 2020...
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the Sukuk sector. The brouhaha involving Emirates REIT’s Sukuk restructuring plan seems to finally tone down in the backdrop of promising (upcoming) offerings from the likes of Saudi Aramco...
Takaful is often quoted as the most untapped market in the Islamic finance industry despite its offerings which have both functional and spiritual benefits. However, the Takaful industry can prove to be a game changer...
One of the basic tenets of Islamic law — “harm must be eliminated” — has been thrust into the mainstream of the investment world. As we emerge from the worst pandemic in human history, and...
Nowadays, almost 50% of reports in the press are calling the attention to the need of having all industries invest in ESG while the other 50% are industries commenting what they are doing in this...
In short, who knows! My heart says yes but my head says not so. BRIAN ADAMS looks at the performance of Islamic banks and Islamic wealth management providers in the UK. Arabian Business reported in...
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has been relentlessly striving to take the nation forward through the adoption of financial technology (fintech) and the encouragement of novel entrepreneurial initiatives using emerging technologies. The country has passed...
As I concluded the last article on the agent requiring the goods to be inspected by an independent survey firm as its responsibility, I somehow knew the question which will be raised. And it is about the extra cost for such examination. The question did arrive in my email. It was also stated that at times such third-party inspection may pave the way for corruption, citing a particular country where all imports were made conditional upon such inspection some time ago with a certain fee-sharing arrangement between the company and the ruling elite. Well, this was a one-off incident and...
As illustrated in my previous report ‘Introduction and status quo of Hong Kong Islamic index fund’ in IFN Volume 18 Issue 04 published on the 27th January 2021, we understand that the Hang Seng Islamic China Index Fund is the first Securities and Futures Commission-authorized Islamic fund in Hong Kong. The fund tracks the Dow...
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is seeking to strengthen trade and business relationships between Russia and Qatar, particularly in the digital, sports, media and financial services sectors. The QFC was part of the Qatari delegation participating in the 24th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which included over 50 Qatari public and private entities. The...
Foreign remittance inflow through the country's Islamic banks last year marked a 46% year-on-year growth even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, expatriates are more interested in sending remittances through Islamic banks than the conventional ones. In 2019, Islamic banks posted a 12% year-on-year growth in remittances....
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently issued Circular No 1116 setting forth the following four basic guidelines on the management of liquidity risk by Islamic banks and Islamic banking units of conventional banks. Firstly, Islamic banks and Islamic banking units are to consider the specific liquidity characteristics of Shariah compliant instruments that will be...
In 2020, participation banks continued to provide financing in line with the needs and demands of SMEs in particular, with the policies aiming to achieve sustainable growth and sound expansion of the Turkish economy. The total SME financing volume of participation banks increased by 79.75% from TRY39.5 billion (US$4.64 billion) in 2019 to TRY71 billion...
Prior to COVID-19, most of the developing countries were preoccupied with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the pandemic is likely to cause a huge setback in achieving them. The poorer sections of the...
The World Bank expects GDP growth in Morocco to accelerate to 4.2% in 2021, although significant downside risks remain. According to Statista, in 2021, the poverty rate in Morocco is estimated to reach 3.6%, a...
It was a mixed bag of hits and misses in the last decade for Islamic finance in Australia. While there was a steady growth to over AU$1.8 billion (US$1.39 billion), with a new subsector —...
There is some kind of misperception in the market today that should an Islamic financial institution fail to act in accordance with the Shariah rules, the transaction is null and void and all income derived...
The regulators of the financial sector in Pakistan have taken up the challenge to narrow the gender gap in the workforce as well as enable financial inclusion for women in the Islamic finance industry. The...
DLA Piper’s Paul McViety and Sohail Ali share their thoughts with IFN’s Nessreen Tamano on how well the global Islamic finance industry responded to the pandemic, as well as the opportunities the industry can take to hold a position of global significance.
