GLOBAL: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector maintains ‘A2’ issuer rating
SAUDI ARABIA: Salama Cooperative Insurance Company requests 60% capital decrease
QATAR: Qatar Financial Centre develops sustainable Sukuk and bonds framework based on international standards
NIGERIA: Jaiz Bank to expand services to sub-Saharan African region
UAE: Ithmaar Holding receives shareholders’ approval to sell key assets in Bahrain to Al Salam Bank
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Investment Bank plans SAR2 billion (US$532.59 million) Tier 1 Sukuk program
MALAYSIA: Cenviro issues sustainability Sukuk worth RM54.6 million (US$13.01 million)
INDONESIA: Bank Central Asia partners with Manulife Asset Management Indonesia to launch Manulife Shares Syariah Asia Pacific US Dollar fund
INDONESIA: Indonesia to issue project-based Sukuk paper under Taxpayer Voluntary Disclosure program
MALAYSIA: DanaInfra Nasional auctions three Murabahah-based Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM900 million (US$214.47 million)
MALAYSIA: Country Garden Real Estate prints RM100 million (US$23.83 million) Sukuk
MALAYSIA: Malaysia issues RM2.5 billion (US$595.8 million) Government Investment Issue Murabahah paper
UAE: Appeal Court of Dubai dismisses legal actions taken by RUSD Investment Bank against Islamic Arab Insurance Company
BANGLADESH: Unique Hotel and Resort secures BDT5 billion (US$56.98 million) financing from Al Arafah Islami Bank to fund renovation project
INDONESIA: State-controlled airline Garuda Indonesia seeks 60-day extension to verify over US$10 billion in claims
SAUDI ARABIA: Musharaka REIT Fund acquires KSA Verdun Tower for SAR235 million (US$62.58 million)
GLOBAL: IsDB Group renews long-standing partnership with REDmoney; commits to multilateral strategic partner role for IFN events
OMAN: Alizz Islamic Bank expands network with new Suwaiq branch
EGYPT: Memphis Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries to obtain financing from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
GLOBAL: GFH Financial Group acquires 1.25 million treasury shares on Dubai Financial Market and Boursa Kuwait
INDONESIA: Timber manufacturer Integra Indocabinet to issue two-tranche Sukuk Mudarabah worth IDR150 billion (US$10.49 million)
NIGERIA: Jaiz Bank opens new branch in Akure
MALAYSIA: Principal Financial Group promotes Syed Mashafuddin Syed Badarudin as CEO of Principal Islamic Asset Management
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia appoints Suhaimi Ali as new assistant governor; Norzila Abdul Aziz to retire as assistant governor
UAE: NASDAQ Dubai delists Warba Bank’s US$250 million Tier 1 Sukuk following final redemption
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk sells two Mudarabah-based Islamic commercial papers
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Ministry of Finance closes March 2022 Sukuk offering worth SAR10.38 billion (US$2.76 billion)
MALAYSIA: Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor auctions three Islamic papers totaling RM130 million (US$30.95 million)
EGYPT: Palm Hills Development Company receives approval to issue EGP3.25 billion (US$206.39 million) in Sukuk
GAMBIA: Central Bank of Gambia’s Sukuk Salam papers receive mixed results
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Islamic liquidity management papers
AUSTRALIA: Hejaz Financial Services expands distribution network with HUB24 listing
GLOBAL: International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and partners work on project to help operationalize African Continental Free Trade Area
MOROCCO: Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare drafts model insurance contracts for bancaTakaful products
UAE: Fitch Ratings promotes Saif Shawqi to associate director of Islamic finance
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Central Bank opens public consultation on draft principles and rules for financial consumers’ protection
JERSEY: Helen Munro joins Walkers in Jersey as senior counsel
GLOBAL: MRHB DeFi partners with Ethereum scaling company zkSync
GLOBAL: Central Bank of Kuwait joins GCC cross-border payment system
ETHIOPIA: Bank of Abyssinia goes live with iMAL software to support Islamic window expansion
JORDAN: Safwa Islamic Bank appoints Ahmad Salah Said Ghnaim as senior executive manager
MALAYSIA: Tan Chong Motor Holdings sells two Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM300 million (US$71.26 million)
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Home Loans Company begins bookbuilding for IPO; sets offering price range at SAR17–20 (US$4.53–5.33) per share
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur Kepong auctions two Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM2 billion (US$475.06 million)
INDONESIA: Indonesia targets IDR9 trillion (US$628.53 million) in upcoming Sukuk auction
BAHRAIN: Central Bank of Bahrain’s Sukuk Salam securities worth BHD43 million (US$113.36 million) oversubscribed
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Islamic papers
GLOBAL: Investment manager Wealthface launches premium trading account
SAUDI ARABIA: SABB Takaful Company calls for board membership nominations
UAE: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank announces seven board of directors nominees; to be elected on 17th March 2022
This week, we saw new Islamic funds hit the Saudi market; new Takaful rules being formed in Malaysia and Morocco; and new deals which could spur Halal trade in New Zealand as well as African–Arab relations. More in this week’s...
Current economic conditions are in a uniquely precarious state, with Sukuk issuance dwindling and equity markets around the world plummeting amid the uncertainty of war. With returns falling across the board, investors are increasingly turning...
We are shining the spotlight on Islamic venture capital (VC) this week. Why? Because the Sukuk and equity markets are roiling amid the ongoing tense geopolitical landscape. VC firms, however, seem to be picking up....
British company SAH Diagnostics, which was established in April 2020 to enter into the mobile and modular health diagnostics services sector for the UK's National Health Service, has successfully closed a landmark Islamic financial transaction...
Indonesia has had a busy week while regular issuers keep up momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Saudi Arabia The Saudi Ministry...
Popular with Sukuk issuers and Islamic financial institutions, offshore financial centers (OFCs) offer efficient and cost-effective tax planning and cross-border transactions. NESSREEN TAMANO writes a roundup of the most prominent OFCs in the global Shariah...
Islamic structured finance comprises an array of solutions including hybrid Sukuk, syndicated financing and collateralized financing, all of which are tailored to meet complex financing needs. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY takes a look at the latest developments...
Rating agencies released mixed forecasts for the global Sukuk market; a flurry of Sukuk offerings hit the market; mergers and acquisitions came to fruition while new players and funds entered the space; blockchain start-ups moved...
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.
BAHRAIN: Outpacing the growth of its conventional peers, Bahrain’s Shariah banking sector, which accounts for almost 40% of the domestic banking system, is poised to benefit from the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, higher energy prices,...
GLOBAL: The Islamic insurance arm of the IsDB and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have joined hands to promote Arab–African trade and investment flows, in a move that could see enhanced utilization of Islamic financial tools...
Indonesia has had a busy week while regular issuers keep up momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Saudi Arabia The Saudi Ministry of Finance’s National Debt Management Center completed...
Global wealth and asset manager Manulife Investment Management has rolled out the Manulife Shariah PRS-Golden Asia Fund — a Shariah compliant non-core fund for Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) investors in Malaysia. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY has more....
Ithmaar Holding, an integral player in the development of Islamic finance in Bahrain, will conduct an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on the 16th March 2022 to, among others, obtain approval from its shareholders on the...
Despite its relative youth, the crypto market has surged in popularity and value, almost rivaling the size of the entire global Islamic finance industry, and even outsizing it at times. Its phenomenal, and volatile, rise...
New Zealand will be entering new Halal markets in a bid to boost its Halal trade, and will use Islamic financial instruments to support the expansion. To realize this, it has engaged the help of...
Morocco has seen a rise in its Islamic home financing compared with conventional home loans, and similarly, Pakistan’s Islamic banking sector has outperformed its conventional counterpart. In Senegal, a new digital platform for Murabahah via...
The past year saw a spike in Islamic home financing in Morocco, whose participation finance and banking industry has recently received a boost in regulatory support. NESSREEN TAMANO reports. According to the Bank Al-Maghrib's Key...
At least one more notable corporate Sukuk issuance can be expected to come out of Qatar this year with the recent approval of Islamic bank QIIB's Sukuk plans, which include a Tier 2 capital facility...
In the second week of March 2022, the Qatar Stock Exchange announced the semi-annual rebalancing of its three indices. One of these, the QE Al Rayan Islamic index, was launched in January 2013 and was...
The upheavals caused by the climate emergency, the development of digital technology, social tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, which does not seem ready to disappear, have accelerated the major structural trends in the insurance sector,...
With much attention focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles of late, does the field of Islamic infrastructure financing require a revamp or a refinement? AZLIN AHMAD explores. Islamic infrastructure financing — a snapshot...
The COVID-19 pandemic that wreaked havoc around the world did not spare Sri Lanka’s economy. Three back-to-back outbreaks and two lengthy lockdowns, locally termed ‘quarantine curfew’, in the past two years literally brought the country...
Today, there are many Muslims in Kazakhstan who are forced to keep their money either ‘under the pillow’, since the loan interest is contrary to their ethical values, or to place money in traditional banks...
In my opinion, I have provided enough ammunition to investors against the originator (obligor) to be able to safeguard their capital injection in Sukuk transactions. Now, let me explain what happens if an event of default occurs. There is no formal classification as such, but for readers’ easy understanding, I would like to divide the Sukuk default into minor and major, or lighter and serious — for the choice of better words. Minor or lighter defaults: these relate to informative or administrative milestones missed by the originator or breach of any of the representation, warranties and covenants by it. For...
Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has expanded its operations to B Atoll, which is the 6th atoll, by launching its 19th ATM at B Eydhafushi on the 6th March 2022. MIB has placed an eCRM machine in Eydhafushi and according to MIB, this is the first establishment of its kind based on the digital strategy of...
I wrote in January about the importance of the tone at the top, and the object of that article got lucky as there really is no other story this month other than Vladimir Putin’s war. Notwithstanding the intense suffering and death visited on both the people of Ukraine and invading Russian soldiers, there are lessons...
In order to support the development of securities crowdfunding (SCF), Indonesia has had its regulation since the end of 2020 and its Fatwa since August 2021. However, the market needs additional regulatory explanations related to Shariah securities issued through SCF because the existing regulation is about SCF in general. The SCF regulation that was issued...
I was going to write my scheduled article about the potential effects of investment funds in Abu Dhabi on Islamic technology companies. But I could not because of the weeks-long military conflict in Ukraine. I may not use any other term for this “special operation”, since I spend a substantial amount of time in Russia,...
Recently, Pakistan signed an agreement of US$1.2 billion with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the IsDB, to provide integrated trade solutions to support the energy and agricultural sectors. The annual plan agreement includes financing for the import of essential commodities such as crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural gas...
The research on Islamic business is expected to grow in 2022, consisting of several areas mainly on Islamic economics, Islamic finance, Halal industry or products. Reputable database Scopus, recognized by universities around the world, will...
The development and maintenance of Shariah compliant infrastructure in an Islamic financial institution merely depends on the decisions made by stakeholders. But what affects most the quality of a decision is the information. The better...
Since the start of participatory activity in Morocco, little attention has been accorded to the Shariah governance aspect as a real trust and performance lever. Indeed, for market players, this aspect remains a ‘luxury’ as...
The objective of Islamic finance is to promote sustained growth and employment, thus contributing positively to poverty alleviation and, ultimately, to economic and social justice. There are two types of financing which can be used...
There is no doubt there are major challenges facing the future of the planet. Climate change, sustainability, energy transition and protecting biodiversity are themes which varyingly appear in almost every investment publication in any language...
Digital investment management or robo-advisory is growing phenomenally in the US – but what is the reality like with Islamic robo-advisors? In this episode, IFN Managing Editor Vineeta Tan speaks to the founder and CEO of US-based Aghaz Investments, Khurram Agha, to get a picture of the Shariah compliant robo-advisory market in the US to understand the gaps and prospects.
