MALAYSIA: RAM has reaffirmed the rating on West Coast Expressway (WCE)’s Sukuk Murabahah program worth RM1 billion (US$238.52 million) at ‘AAA(bg/fg)/Stable’, a press statement said.
MALAYSIA: MARC affirms ‘AA+IS’ rating on Kapar Energy Ventures’s outstanding Sukuk Ijarah worth RM790 million (US$188.43 million)
INDONESIA: Securities crowdfunding platform Bizhare launches mobile app
MALAYSIA: CIMB Group Holdings targets RM30 billion (US$7.16 billion) in sustainable offerings by 2024
MALAYSIA: Malaysia’s 5G rollout financier Digital Nasional to securitize future cash flows from wholesale business through Sukuk programs to finance network expenditure
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi financing company Positive Facilities engages Path Solutions to integrate interest-free core banking platform
GLOBAL: Bank Nizwa signs MoU with AAOIFI for the development of Islamic banking and finance
UAE: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Spotii jointly launch virtual buy-now-pay-later prepaid card
GLOBAL: AAOIFI conducts discussion on IFSB–AAOIFI exposure draft
SRI LANKA: Bureau Veritas Sri Lanka affirms Amana Bank’s ISO/IEC 27001:2013 information technology security system certification
SAUDI ARABIA: Bandar Fayeh Alotaibi joins Swicorp Wabel REIT Fund as non-independent board member
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Public Investment Fund to soon announce first green Sukuk issuance, says Governor Yasir Al Rumayyan
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk sells RM36 million (US$8.59 million) Islamic commercial paper
INDONESIA: Indonesia lists retail Sukuk series SR015 worth IDR27 trillion (US$1.9 billion) on Indonesia Stock Exchange
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Shariah papers
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh auctions two Bangladesh Government Islami Investment Bonds
INDONESIA: Contributions in Indonesia’s Takaful sector reach 8.7% of domestic insurance gross premiums
MALAYSIA: Putrajaya Bina’s RM1.58 billion (US$377.04 million) Islamic medium-term note program receives affirmed rating of ‘AAAIS’ from MARC
MALAYSIA: MARC affirms ‘AAAIS’ ratings on Putrajaya Holdings’s outstanding Sukuk issuances
KUWAIT: Wael Elsaid Shawareb takes over duties of chief technology officer of Warba Bank until further notice
SAUDI ARABIA: Alujain Holding Corp to finance acquisition of shares in National Petrochemical Industrial Company with Islamic facilities from Alinma Bank
GLOBAL: Shelter Afrique repays loans worth US$186 million from eight financial institutions including IsDB’s private sector arm
INDONESIA: Bank Syariah Indonesia plans expansion into other countries in five years, says minister of state-owned enterprises
MALAYSIA: Mergers and acquisitions not in current strategic plan of Bank Muamalat Malaysia, president and CEO says
PHILIPPINES: Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation proposes charter amendment to include Islamic deposits
EGYPT: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank-Egypt contributes EGP9 billion (US$571.59 million) to central bank initiatives; plans financing agreements with international institutions
OMAN: Muscat Stock Exchange publishes list of Shariah compliant companies for second quarter of 2021
UZBEKISTAN: IsDB and OPEC Fund for International Development allocate loans worth US$275 million to develop rural settlements in Uzbekistan
INDONESIA: Social commerce platform Evermos eyes Shariah compliance
SAUDI ARABIA: Quara Finance renews financing service agreement with Jarir Bookstore
OMAN: Ahli Islamic launches Ladies Savings Account
MALAYSIA: Perak Transit issues Islamic medium-term notes worth RM100 million (US$23.86 million)
INDONESIA: Indonesia raises IDR6.1 trillion (US$428.12 million) from Sukuk auction
GAMBIA: Central Bank of Gambia’s auction featuring three Sukuk Salam papers oversubscribed
KUWAIT: Central Bank of Kuwait places bonds and related Tawarruq papers totaling KWD200 million (US$662.98 million)
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues three Islamic papers totaling RM22.48 billion (US$5.36 billion)
GLOBAL: Focusing on low-risk retail finance aids Islamic banks to weather the pandemic, Moody’s says
SAUDI ARABIA: National Building and Marketing Co secures Islamic financing facility from Riyad Bank worth SAR100 million (US$26.63 million)
OMAN: Moody’s expects growth of Omani Islamic assets to reach 20% of banking assets by 2025
GLOBAL: Growth prospects for the GCC Takaful industry remain favorable, Moody’s says
SAUDI ARABIA: Alinma Tokio Marine Company signs group credit insurance policy with Alinma Bank
SAUDI ARABIA: Allied Cooperative Insurance Group receives approval from Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia to increase capital
UAE: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank appoints Ahmed Bazarah as head of Emirati segment
MALAYSIA: UEM Sunrise prints RM150 million (US$35.77 million) Islamic medium-term note with a profit rate of 4.25%
TURKEY: Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkey to issue Turkish lira-denominated fixed rent rate lease certificates
PAKISTAN: Pakistan to raise up to US$1.5 billion from international Sukuk
INDONESIA: Indonesia records IDR27 trillion (US$1.89 billion) from total sales of retail Sukuk series SR015
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Islamic liquidity management papers
SAUDI ARABIA: General Court rules in favor of Al-Jazira REIT in case against Takhzeen Logistics Company for rental payments due
TURKEY: Fitch Ratings assigns final long-term rating of ‘B/RR5’ on Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi’s Sukuk worth US$350 million
SAUDI ARABIA: Less than a week since it revealed its potential transition Sukuk plan, the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (APICORP) has launched its inaugural Green Bond Framework which will guide the financial institution in raising green Sukuk and bonds. “The...
Last week we discussed Nigeria’s nascent Sukuk market, and this week we turn our eyes to its northerly neighbor, Egypt. It has been a long time coming, but this summer has finally seen momentum build...
We continue our tour around Africa this week with a discussion on Egypt. The North African nation has been working on a sovereign Sukuk issuance for years with some even casting doubts over the possibility...
Nigeria-based real estate investment firm Purple Group has turned to the Islamic financial market as a source for alternative funding and issued its debut Sukuk worth NGN5 billion (US$12.13 million) — the first in a...
Pakistan is looking at issuing international Sukuk while regular issuers sustained momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Indonesia The Indonesian government was...
The UAE boasts vibrant financial centers and strong ties with the big players of the global Islamic finance and banking industry, confirming its potential and commitment to becoming a hub for Shariah compliant financial products...
Since the release of AAOIFI’s standard on gold, it has provided Islamic investors the opportunity to tap the gold market with products such as gold-backed Sukuk, gold funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY writes....
From groundbreaking Sukuk offerings to landmark Islamic fintech acquisitions and growth, to a flurry of Islamic fund launches and significant regulations unfolding, August has been quite the month for Islamic finance. The IFN Monthly Review...
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.
GLOBAL: The IsDB has joined an African Development Bank (AfDB)-led consortium of development finance institutions to implement the AfDB’s Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative to develop agro businesses on the continent. The participating institutions...
Pakistan is looking at issuing international Sukuk while regular issuers sustained momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Indonesia The Indonesian government was due to conduct a Sukuk auction on...
Eastspring Investments, which manages more than RM7.7 billion (US$1.84 billion) in Shariah compliant assets as at the end of December 2020, has debuted its latest Islamic fund, the Eastspring Investments Islamic China A-Shares Fund. JEVITHA...
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has launched the SC Capital Market Masterplan 3 (2021–2025) (CMP3), a strategic framework supporting the country's aspirations for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. NESSREEN TAMANO reports. The masterplan outlines six...
Despite ongoing regional geopolitical tension, economic pressure and capricious oil prices, asset managers in the GCC are confident that swelling demand for Islamic and ethical investments would attract greater net inflows over the next year,...
Islamic banks will play a crucial role in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s financial inclusion strategy to bring women into the financial fold, a Herculean task in one of the world’s poorest-rated jurisdictions when...
This week, we saw new players and new Islamic finance products enter the market; multilateral development bank APICORP revealing its transition Sukuk plan; new partnerships; and significant appointments in several Islamic finance institutions. All these...
The Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (APICORP), which unveiled a new related policy framework, is exploring transition Sukuk among a multitude of ethical finance instruments to boost its green portfolio on the back of a US$1...
The telecommunication infrastructure arm of one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates has secured an Islamic syndicated financing to fund the development of tower sites for various mobile network operators in Pakistan, deepening the firm’s Islamic finance...
Lagos State mulls Sukuk while Bangladesh returns to the bond market. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Nigeria Lagos State, the most active subnational issuer of the Nigerian capital market,...
MOHAMOUD BARRE DUALEH would like to start with a general critique of banking and financial services. Often, we hear that today’s micro and small businesses are the corporates of tomorrow. However, is this transition as...
The previous years are considered as a quiet period for the Islamic finance industry in Tunisia. The number of Islamic financial institutions is stable with three Islamic banks, three Takaful companies and one Islamic microfinance...
The efforts of the Indonesian government to minimize the spread of COVID-19 are by issuing an appeal to the community to reduce activities out of their homes. In this regard, the government has imposed social...
The trend for investing in the UK real estate for Muslim and non-Muslim investors has not abated despite the COVID-19 pandemic. While barriers to travel have been prohibitive and put a stop or delay on...
The latest practice that underpins the success of Islamic finance in Malaysia is value-based intermediation (VBI). The initiative, started by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in 2017 in collaboration with a few Islamic banks or the...
After having explained the asset classes of the AAOIFI Shariah standard’s definition on Sukuk in the last article, it is important for me to explain its last part which reads as: “However, this is true after the receipt of the value of Sukuk, the closing of subscription and the employment of funds received for the purpose of which the Sukuk were issued”. Let me try to explain the aforementioned through the Sukuk subscription, allotment and deployment cycle which equally applies to a listed or a privately placed Sukuk. The listed Sukuk is the one which is registered at a bourse...
The Climate Bonds Initiative recently released the 2020 Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing report. According to the briefing report, the number of green bonds issued by Hong Kong issuers last year hit a record high, but the total amount of green bonds issued was US$2.09 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 18%. However, the total...
The volume of the Islamic banking and leasing industry across the globe was over US$2.7 trillion in 2020. That is the big takeaway from a recent report where Egypt accounted for US$22 billion of global Islamic banking that was mentioned during the first Arab forum on Sukuk held recently that was attended by representatives from...
Islamic economics and finance (IEF) is a field with an increasing number of certification programs and training opportunities. This is owing to the multidisciplinary character of the sector, which requires expertise in finance, economics, Shariah, law and data science. As a result, a variety of international, governmental and non-governmental organizations organize and provide training. Recently,...
NRB Bank of Bangladesh has added another feather to its cap by inaugurating a Shariah-based banking solution through a new Islamic banking window. As part of the regular modernization, the bank is committed to offer state-of-the-art banking services with uncompromising Shariah adherence. NRB Bank will be the catalyst in harnessing Shariah-based financial needs from a...
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg benefits from a long history in Islamic finance when in 1978 Luxembourg became the first country in Europe to license an Islamic financial institution. Since then, all required legal, tax and regulatory structures have been put in place to enable Luxembourg to become a major European hub for Islamic finance...
Global Islamic finance assets, which stood approximately at US$1.76 billion in 2012, are projected to almost double by 2024 surpassing the whopping threshold of US$3.5 billion (ICD-REFINITIV Islamic Finance Development Report 2020). Because of the...
Unlike its European counterparts, France has the uniqueness of being the residency of more than 4.5 million Muslims according to the Pew Research Center’s statistics. This situation renders the establishment and development of a suitable...
Regulatory frameworks for financial institutions are designed with the objective of ensuring stability in the financial system. In Pakistan, the growth of Islamic finance is led by the Islamic banking industry and a conducive regulatory...
In recent years, fintech Master’s degrees have appeared around the world. Most of them have a major problem with the design and therefore with the scientific and technical expertise to bridge the world of digital...
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) refer to the process of buying, selling, combining or recombining in the name of consolidation with the objective of value maximization through the best utilization of available resources. M&As occur due...
There is an area of opportunity within the Indonesian Islamic finance and banking sector for Islamic fintechs to bridge the gap between technology and Shariah finance, that ALAMI has pinned its focus on. Dima Djani, the CEO of the Shariah peer-to-peer platform, joins IFN’s Nessreen Tamano in a podcast episode to discuss the work needed in this area.
