UAE: SocioPay launches scan and pay mobile app enabling charitable donations
SAUDI ARABIA: Capital Market Authority approves International Central Securities Depositories Instructions
OMAN: Omani Capital Market Authority approves new rules for public offerings
IRAN: Central Bank of Iran calls for guaranteed lifting of sanctions on Iranian banking industry during nuclear talks
MALAYSIA: Lembaga Tabung Haji records higher Zakat contributions for 2020
MALAYSIA: Bank Islam targets 30 homes to be handed over under Asnaf Personal Financing-i scheme this year
KUWAIT: Capital Markets Authority grants collective investment scheme license to Watani Investment Company for Islamic Leasing and Finance Fund XXII
UAE: HashCash to develop Shariah compliant crypto exchange for UAE entity
SAUDI ARABIA: Bank AlJazira announces early redemption of SAR2 billion (US$532.57 million) Sukuk due 2026
IRAN: Iran’s Economic Commission of the Parliament to approve new capital market law repositioning Securities and Exchange Organization
PAKISTAN: Bank of Punjab launches Roshan Digital Account services free of charge for Islamic and conventional customers
ALGERIA: Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad urges finance ministry to intensify efforts to promote Islamic finance
KUWAIT: Al-Tijaria Real Estate Development Company secures Islamic financing agreement worth KWD11 million (US$36.44 million) for future projects
UK: Law firm Foot Anstey promotes Zahir Nayani to equity partner
OMAN: Bank Nizwa appoints Ali Suliman Mohammed Al Jahdhami as non-voting Shariah board member
MALAYSIA: reNIKOLA Solar to issue green Sukuk worth up to RM390 million (US$94.76 million) on 11th May
MALAYSIA: Fraser & Neave Holdings proposes Sukuk programs worth a total of up to RM3 billion (US$728.95 million) to refinance existing borrowings
MALAYSIA: Maybank Asset Management launches debut mixed assets Islamic fund with Waqf feature
KUWAIT: Mezzan Holding Company signs market maker agreement on shares with KFH Capital Investment Company
GLOBAL: IsDB and The World Academy of Sciences collaborate to offer joint research and technology transfer grant to qualified women researchers
UK: Offa completes Shariah compliant rebridging facility worth GBP826,000 (US$1.15 million) for London properties
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia’s insurance sector witnesses 2.3% growth as total written premiums reach SAR38.78 billion (US$10.34 billion) in 2020
KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank partners with Mobiquity to design bank’s digital transformation
GLOBAL: IsDB and South Center release policy paper on strategies for South–South and triangular cooperation
INDONESIA: Five conventional banks to exit Aceh as province implements fully Islamic financial system
UZBEKISTAN: Trustbank signs agreement with ICS Financial Systems for Islamic banking software solution
SAUDI ARABIA: Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Company receives approval from Capital Market Authority for capital increase
PAKISTAN: Faysal Bank signs agreement with Emaar Properties to provide Islamic home financing facilities
PAKISTAN: Summit Bank welcomes Salman Zafar Siddiqi as new CFO
MALAYSIA: HSBC Malaysia launches online investment platform EZInvest offering Islamic and conventional investment funds
UAE: Codebase Technologies launches peer-to-peer payment and fund transfer solution SocialPay
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia maintains overnight policy rate at 1.75%
MALAYSIA: Bank Muamalat signs MoU with Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute to develop Automotive Vendor Financing Programme
NIGERIA: Nigerian Exchange Group supports IFN Nigeria OnAir Forum 2021
MALAYSIA: Permodalan Nasional’s chief investment officer, Rizal Rickman Ramli, joins Sime Darby Property as new chairman
MALAYSIA: Permodalan Nasional appoints former chief justice Arifin Zakaria as group chairman
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk prints RM50 million (US$12.12 million) Islamic commercial paper
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia sells three Shariah papers
AUSTRALIA: Hejaz Financial Services to launch Islamic financial advisors network of up to 200 authorized representatives
KAZAKHSTAN: Tayyab engages Shariyah Review Bureau as advisor for newly launched debit cards
LIBYA: Libya to reopen stock market with two Islamic banks’ IPOs and three investment Sukuk issuances
GLOBAL: AAOIFI issues updated version of Auditing Standard for Islamic Financial Institutions 6
INDONESIA: National Zakat Agency signs MoU with Bank Negara Indonesia for Zakat management
EGYPT: First Abu Dhabi Bank commences integration process of Bank Audi Egypt and First Abu Dhabi Bank Egypt
PAKISTAN: Former governor of State Bank of Pakistan Dr Shamshad Akhtar joins Pakistan Stock Exchange as new chairperson
BANGLADESH: Golam Awlia joins NRB Commercial Bank as CEO and managing director
MALAYSIA: Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional prices dual-tranche US dollar-denominated Sukuk
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Export Import Company seeks Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for Sukuk issuance
MALAYSIA: Maybank Islamic to fully purchase outstanding Islamic commercial papers totaling RM1.5 billion (US$364.08 million)
MALAYSIA: Al Aqar Capital redeems three-tranche Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM575 million (US$139.56 million)
MALAYSIA: COVID-19 and unfavorable weather have thrown a spanner in the works to Sparks Energy 1’s sustainable Sukuk plan as it faces setbacks in achieving the commercial operation date (COD) for its solar power plants. The delays to its 30...
According to the latest World Bank figures, the world is losing US$172 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between women and men. It is a serious issue that could have transformative consequences...
Women make up about half of the world’s population, yet they are severely underrepresented in politics, finance and even investments, among others. The income disparity between men and women is staggering: the World Bank estimates...
Real estate developer Inertia Egypt closed an Islamic financing agreement worth EGP1.1 billion (US$70.11 million) from Banque Misr to finance the fourth phase of Jefaira, a fully integrated coastal city project. NESSREEN TAMANO has the...
The Maldives reissued an existing Sukuk paper while regular issuances received strong demand from investors. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Malaysia Bank...
After years of struggling to launch, Egypt’s Sukuk market has finally taken off with the issuance of the country’s first corporate Sukuk last year. NESSREEN TAMANO highlights other top developments in the North African nation’s...
Islamic cross-border financing has seen growing activity from Islamic banks over the past 12 months, although data on Islamic cross-border deals is not widely accessible making it challenging to assess the sector. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY writes....
The market is constantly moving: as the industry transitions away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and embraces sustainability, we see Sukuk offerings mirroring such trends. Across the banking sector, capital markets and the...
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.
With Eid fast approaching, market activities are vibrant as ever. Issuers are tapping the Sukuk market; Libya is reopening its stock market; Dubai Economy will be taking over Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre’s mandate; mergers...
UAE: A series of new legislation aimed at raising the efficiency of some of Dubai's government entities includes the dissolution of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and the transfer of its functions to...
GLOBAL: Switzerland-headquartered Instimatch Global has launched a Shariah compliant interbank money market deal-matching service in partnership with UK-based commodity Murabahah broker Eiger Trading Advisors, IFN can reveal. The partnership with Eiger Trading provides Instimatch Global,...
The Maldives reissued an existing Sukuk paper while regular issuances received strong demand from investors. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia issued three Money Market Tender...
This week, JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY shines the spotlight on AlDar Investment Fund, a vehicle launched in early April this year by Jadwa Investment which received strong demand from investors. Jadwa Investment — which currently manages SAR15...
The National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance (KNEKS) revealed recently that a digital business ecosystem map of the Islamic economic and financial data flow is in the works. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY speaks to Dr Sutan...
The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) and the Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA) have jointly launched the official Strategic Framework for Islamic Financial Services in the nation — a significant step in the government’s overall plan...
The UN and the IsDB Group will jointly launch a campaign in the coming days to mobilize Zakat and Sadaqah resources to boost health infrastructure and vaccine production as the two multilateral entities double down...
The market is constantly moving: as the industry transitions away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and embraces sustainability, we see Sukuk offerings mirroring such trends. Across the banking sector, capital markets and the...
Amid a boom in its Shariah equity capital market, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) has unveiled a new Islamic index capitalizing on the growth of state-owned enterprises (SOE), bringing the total number of Islamic indices...
Shariah compliant investing is not a new concept, it dates back four decades. However, it has gained significant interest in the last five to seven years. The sector has witnessed an upward trend in the...
From its rudimentary inception, the modern Islamic finance industry has grown not only in size but also in complexity. From basic products that catered to the financing needs of the embryonic market at the start,...
The enactment of Republic Act No 11439 or the Act providing for the Regulation and Organization of Islamic Banks in August 2019 marks the ‘new’ beginning of Islamic banking and finance in the Philippines. While...
Conventional derivative products are considered non-Shariah compliant by a majority of scholars due either to the structure of the contract, the underlying asset or the intended use. However, the benefit for the purpose of hedging...
The Sultanate of Oman opened its doors to Islamic banking in 2013. The fact that it took nearly five decades for the people of Oman to avail Islamic banking services (after the establishment of the...
As humans or natural persons we are mortal. There is always a possibility (or rather certainty) that the principal or the agent, or both, may die in the middle of the validity of an agency contract. Another possibility is that either may lose the perfect capacity. By perfect capacity, Shariah means that both contracting natural persons are above 15 years of age and possess sound mind. You may refer to article 31 should you need to comprehend the definition in detail. As per English law, perfect capacity is attained at the age of 18 (revised down from 21 in 1969)...
Venture capital firm Wamda shared some good news about business in Islamic leasing in April while in March, start-ups in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt raised US$170 million. This figure boosted the total amount for the first quarter of 2021 to US$396 million across 125 different deals. The three countries continue to lead in...
The growth of the Islamic banking industry in Oman over recent years has continued at a strong pace compared with its conventional counterpart. According to statements made by Fitch Ratings in March 2021, the Omani Islamic banking market grew by 9.5% in 2020, compared with the conventional financial institutions’ growth rate of only 2.1%. In...
Waqf-based giving is a new pathway for people to distribute charity-focused wealth in a more sustainable manner for social impact. The difference with Waqf-based giving to a consumable charity is there is a goal set by the donor which is to have a sustainable impact regardless of whether the person is living or not. As...
Enabling families which plan to purchase homes financially is a key policy in many financial systems. Providing a mortgage facility has a very important role in this regard. Through mortgage facilities, homebuyers will have more financial power to purchase a house. However, the monetary policies of the Central Bank of Iran have affected the mortgage...
In recent years, Sino–UAE cooperation in the financial field has been continuously strengthened. Currently, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank have branches in the UAE while the National Bank of Abu Dhabi has set up a representative office in Shanghai. Policy financial institutions such...
As the socially responsible investing movement in fixed income began to take off a decade ago, a great deal of ink was spilled on the similarity of green bonds and Sukuk. Both products are explicitly...
The Australian Trade Commission mentioned in a 2010 report that: “Islamic finance has considerable potential to become an important element in Australia’s aspirations to be a global financial services centre in the region. It has...
Islamic finance and classical western finance systems are much different; however, there are more and more ways that both work hand in hand together and Islamic finance principles are becoming increasingly popular for sustainable investments,...
The economic contributions made by SMEs to improve a country’s welfare are supported by the government. Nowadays, SMEs represent 96% of registered companies and approximately 50% of GDP and 65% of employment worldwide, therefore SMEs...
In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims worldwide observe a time for dawn-to-sunset fasting, prayer, reflection and community. Typically, it is a quieter period as they spend time with family and loved ones. However, Islamic...
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.
