BAHRAIN: Gulf University signs agreement with Al Baraka Bank for education financing
ALGERIA: Islamic banking deposits in Algeria reach DZD10 billion (US$73.7 million) in May 2021, says prime minister
SAUDI ARABIA: Wataniya Insurance Company to increase capital by offering rights issue
OMAN: Total assets of Omani Islamic banking sector record 6.7% year-on-year growth to reach OMR5.7 billion (US$14.76 billion) as at end of July 2021
TURKMENISTAN: Turkmenistan banks attend webinar on Islamic line of financing by IsDB’s private sector arm
ALGERIA: Banque National d’Algerie opens new branch in Hussein Dey fully dedicated to Islamic banking; launches new product
SAUDI ARABIA: SABB Takaful renews Group Care Policy contract with SABB Bank worth SAR3.9 million (US$1.04 million)
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Central Bank inaugurates first Saudi branch of Standard Chartered Bank
UAE: National Bonds Corporation partners with Dubai Quality Group to launch Shariah compliant savings product
TURKEY: Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi completes issuance of landmark sustainability Tier 2 Sukuk worth US$350 million
GLOBAL: International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation signs 10 trade financing agreements worth US$1.2 billion
INDONESIA: Otoritas Jasa Keuangan revokes business license of Bank Pembiayaan Rakyat Syariah Asri Madani Nusantara
PAKISTAN: Habib Bank signs MoU with Indus Motor Company
INDONESIA: Bank CIMB Niaga partners with Visa to launch CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite Syariah Card
ALGERIA: Algeria works on new investment law to improve business climate and attract foreign investors, encourages Islamic finance
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk sells Islamic commercial paper worth RM150 million (US$36.05 million)
MALAYSIA: Sabah Credit Corporation issues RM80 million (US$19.23 million) Islamic medium-term note with a profit rate of 3.07%
BAHRAIN: Central Bank of Bahrain directs retail banks and financial institutions to implement requirements for second phase of open banking framework
GLOBAL: Investcorp completes sale of PRO Unlimited and Harvest Partners-managed funds to EQT Private Equity
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi insurance sector’s gross written premiums grow by 8.1% year-on-year to reach SAR9.4 billion (US$2.5 billion) in second quarter of 2021
MALAYSIA: RAM reaffirms ‘AAA/Stable’ and ‘P1’ ratings on Pengurusan Air Selangor’s Islamic programs
MALAYSIA: MARC affirms ‘AAAIS’ rating on TNB Northern Energy’s outstanding Sukuk worth RM1.35 billion (US$324.35 million)
UAE: Umm Al Quwain Coop opens subscription on share offering for 370,399 shares through AAFAQ Islamic Finance
IRAN: Securities and Exchange Organization outlines measures to develop capital market; to issue two new portfolio permits for technology sector
UAE: Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone signs MoU with National Bank of Umm Al Quwain
GLOBAL: Qatar Islamic Bank expands direct remit service to the Philippines and Pakistan
OMAN: Alizz Islamic Bank signs agreement with National Mass Housing Company to offer home financing
GLOBAL: Malian Ministry of Economy and Finance signs US$40 million financing agreement with Qatar Fund for Development for education program co-financed by IsDB
SINGAPORE: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation appoints Tan Teck Long as head of global wholesale banking
SAUDI ARABIA: Matager Finance Company engages Shariyah Review Bureau
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission issues new directive to ensure effective governance of Sukuk and debt securities trustees
GLOBAL: Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture joins TADAMON program with contribution valued at US$56.5 million
MALAYSIA: International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance appoints Azman Mokhtar as board chairman
UAE: Dubai Financial Services Authority delists Sharjah Islamic Bank’s US$500 million trust certificates from official list of securities
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Ministry of Finance closes September Sukuk offering worth SAR6.68 billion (US$1.78 billion)
GAMBIA: Central Bank of Gambia concludes auction featuring three Sukuk Salam papers
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Islamic liquidity management papers totaling RM22.7 billion (US$5.45 billion)
GLOBAL: Gulf Islamic Investments plans US$1 billion investment in Saudi Arabia; IPO in next three years
SAUDI ARABIA: Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance opens nominations for candidacy of nine board memberships
GLOBAL: Shariah compliant Algorand partners with SkyBridge Capital and NAX to launch decentralized finance platform UNLOX
PAKISTAN: Pakistan Single Window partners with State Bank of Pakistan to launch online registration service
INDONESIA: Bank Syariah Indonesia inaugurates new digital branch office
ETHIOPIA: Hijra Bank goes live on Path Solutions’s iMAL Islamic core banking platform
ALGERIA: Banque de l’Agriculture et du Developpement Rural launches 14 Shariah finance products at Ouargla branch’s Islamic window
INDONESIA: Hutama Karya issues three-tranche Sukuk Mudarabah worth IDR500 billion (US$35.07 million)
UAE: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank partners with fintech company DenekB on digital payment option
UAE: Former deputy CEO of SHUAA Capital Mustafa Kheriba launches new Islamic asset management firm
UAE: National Takaful Company (Watania) implements Nutanix infrastructure technology to enhance digital platform
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Central Bank extends application period for Islamic Finance Research Translation Program to the 30th September 2021
MALAYSIA: Tropicana Corporation auctions RM270 million (US$64.91 million) Islamic paper with a profit rate of 6.6%
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 and more in this edition...
This week, it was revealed that Lagos State is hoping to follow in the footsteps of its northerly sibling Osun in the issuance of Sukuk to fund its ambitious infrastructure program. It could be the...
This week, we are diving into one of the most exciting development to unfold in the last week: the Nigerian state of Lagos is preparing to enter the Sukuk market, like its Osun sibling, to...
Close on the heels of its sophomore dollar Sukuk issuance in June 2021, Ahli United Bank (AUB) successfully closed its second Islamic paper this year at US$600 million, upsized from the original benchmark-sized offering. NESSREEN...
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...
Qatar continues to slowly but steadily grow its Islamic finance and banking industry, which had not been affected much by the Saudi-led GCC embargo on the State that started in 2017 and was lifted earlier...
Socially responsible investing, also known as ethical and green investing, promotes ethical and socially-conscious themes including environmental sustainability. Over the past 12 months, investment related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable and responsible...
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: Â 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...
PAKISTAN: 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...
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,...
Manulife Investment Management rolled out its first China-focused Islamic equity fund, the Manulife Shariah China Equity Fund, targeting investors in Malaysia that are looking to participate in China’s post-pandemic economic opportunities. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY has more....
AzerGold, a state-owned mining company that focuses on metal ore deposits, could issue the first Sukuk out of Azerbaijan as it aims to close an issuance by the second quarter of 2022 for its financing...
A Shariah compliant digital green portfolio, underpinned by natural assets such as trees, is being spearheaded by Dublin-based IBF Net in collaboration with the Foundation for Islamic Endowment Funds Indonesia, also known as Green Waqf...
The IFSB is gathering feedback on a set of core principles designed to guide regulatory authorities in evaluating their supervisory systems and to identify gap areas to better integrate Islamic finance. VINEETA TAN writes. Known...
The IsDB gathered about 4,000 stakeholders at its annual meetings which saw the signing of US$1.2 billion-worth of agreements; Iran revealed several Islamic and ethical finance initiatives; while Kuveyt Turk is preparing to tap the...
In line with its goals of developing more sustainable and responsible instruments and indices, the Iran Fara Bourse (IFB) has joined the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, a global platform under the UN Partnership Programme...
GFH Financial Group is expanding its US portfolio with the purchase of two multifamily residential sites in Las Vegas for US$200 million, as part of its North American investment strategy, underscoring the attractiveness of US...
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...
Sri Lanka, an island nation of a little under 22 million people, lies at the crossroad of trade and shipping making it an appropriate trading and shipping hub. This has been the case since time...
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the number one investment center in Europe and second in the world after the US in terms of assets under management, is also regarded as the leading non-Muslim domicile for...
In the last article, I provided a little bit of explanation on the difference between bonds and Sukuk with the help of the definition on Sukuk by quoting from the relevant AAOIFI Shariah standard. Realizing that the definition may not have gone down well with the readers not familiar with Sukuk, today I would like to break it down for ease of understanding but for this, I will requote the definition as follows: “Investment Sukuk are certificates of equal value representing undivided share in the ownership of tangible assets, usufruct and services or in the ownership of the assets of...
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...
In August 2021, the equity markets continued its bull run led by strong corporate earnings delivery, improved macroeconomic indicators and benign liquidity conditions that bolstered investor sentiments. Investors have brushed off any more serious threats to the economic recovery due to the surge in coronavirus delta variant cases and barely reacted to indications from the...
Egypt finally issued its long-awaited Sovereign Sukuk Law No 138/2021, which entered into force on the 19th August this year. Now, the country’s regulators are preparing to draft and issue the accompanying Executive Regulations. The Ministry of Finance, which will operate as the sole originator of all sovereign Sukuk issuances and is also the ministry...
The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) opened its fourth corporate Sukuk for subscription on the 12th September 2021. The subscription period will be closed on the 30th September 2021. The HDFC intends to sell 200,000 units of Sukuk to raise MVR200 million (US$13.01 million). The issue price of this Sukuk is MVR1,000 (US$65.03) with a...
The second quarter of 2021 was successful for participation banks, as they outperformed the sector in terms of growth. While the total asset size of participation banking grew by 15% compared with the previous year, there was an increase of 17% in funds utilized and 16% in funds collected. Net profit increased by 21% to...
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...
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined an aging nation as when 7% of the total population are aged 65 and above. In 2017, the total population reaching age 65 and above was already 6.3% in...
Investment account holders of Islamic financial institutions deposit their money on the basis of profit-sharing and their deposits are pooled by the Islamic financial institutions in investment pools to write earning assets. Thus, the shareholders...
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.
