SAUDI ARABIA: Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Co signs SAR215.12 million (US$57.29 million) agreement with Saudi National Bank
QATAR: Masraf Al Rayan reports lower net profit at QAR1.72 billion (US$468.88 million) in 2021
UAE: First Abu Dhabi Bank records 19% increase in group net profit for 2021
OMAN: Bank Muscat records OMR77.14 million (US$199.74 million) in income from Islamic financing for 2021
SAUDI ARABIA: S&P revises outlook on Wataniya Insurance Company’s ‘BBB’ rating to stable
KUWAIT: Moody’s affirms stable outlook and ratings on Warba Bank
SAUDI ARABIA: Fitch affirms Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation’s long-term issuer default rating at ‘A-’
MALAYSIA: RAM maintains ‘AAA/Stable’ rating on Manjung Island Energy’s Islamic securities
MALAYSIA: Gulf Investment Corporation maintains ‘AAA/Stable’ rating on RM3.5 billion (US$833.1 million) Sukuk Wakalah
MALAYSIA: MARC withdraws ‘AA+/AA+IS’ rating on CIMB Bank’s junior Sukuk program
QATAR: QIIB receives ISO 27001 certificate for third time
BAHRAIN: Ithmaar Bank agrees to Al Salam Bank acquiring its consumer banking business
UK: Investment manager Quilter Cheviot launches Shariah compliant wealth management product for high-net-worth individuals
INDONESIA: Aladin Bank forms collaboration with Google Cloud
GLOBAL: Central banks of Malaysia and Indonesia establish cross-border QR payment linkage
OMAN: Omnix International appoints Walid Gomaa as acting CEO
MALAYSIA: RHB Banking Group’s former managing director and group CEO, Khairussaleh Ramli, joins Maybank as group president and CEO
MALAYSIA: Bioalpha Holdings redesignates Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim as independent non-executive chairman
PAKISTAN: Muneeb Ahmad Rajput joins Bank of Punjab as new senior relationship manager of corporate banking
MALAYSIA: Azman Hashim to retire as chairman and board member of AMMB Holdings in March
TURKEY: Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkey collects 22,384 kilograms of gold for lease certificates
MALAYSIA: Toyota Capital Malaysia places Musharakah-based Islamic medium-term note with a profit rate of 3.3%
MALAYSIA: Semarak Gigih auctions 13 Ijarah-based Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM125 million (US$29.75 million)
MALAYSIA: Pestech International prints unrated Islamic medium-term note
TURKEY: Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi auctions lease certificates worth TRY300 million (US$22 million)
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur Kepong to establish RM2 billion (US$476.06 million) Sukuk Wakalah program
MALAYSIA: Konsortium KAJV prints two Islamic medium-term notes totaling RM100 million (US$23.8 million)
INDONESIA: Indonesia lists five sovereign Shariah papers totaling IDR10 trillion (US$695.19 million)
MALAYSIA: Dialog Group sells RM500 million (US$119.02 million) Islamic medium-term note with a profit rate of 4.53%
MALAYSIA: Bank Negara Malaysia issues two Shariah papers
MALAYSIA: Affin Bank reportedly reaches cash deal to sell asset management arm
SAUDI ARABIA: Osool & Bakheet Investment Company completes mortgage of title deeds of three real estate properties
UAE: National Bank of Fujairah swings back into profits in 2021 with 124.2% growth
UAE: Emirates Islamic realizes 271% surge in 2021 net profit to AED823 million (US$224.03 million)
UAE: Dubai Islamic Bank posts 39% increase in 2021 net profits to AED4.4 billion (US$1.2 billion)
MALAYSIA: RAM maintains ‘AA1/Negative’ rating on YTL Power International’s RM2.5 billion (US$596.65 million) Sukuk Murabahah
MALAYSIA: RAM withdraws ‘C3/Negative’ rating on MEX I Capital’s RM1.35 billion (US$322.19 million) Sukuk Musharakah following full redemption
SAUDI ARABIA: Medgulf receives rating upgrade from Moody’s to ‘Ba1’
MALAYSIA: RAM reaffirms ‘AA3/Stable/P1’ ratings on Kedah Cement’s RM500 million (US$119.33 million) Sukuk Wakalah program
MALAYSIA: RAM reaffirms ‘AA3/Stable’ rating on BGSM Management’s RM10 billion (US$2.38 billion) Islamic medium-term note program
OMAN: Maisarah Islamic Banking Services to adopt axefinance’s Axe Credit Portal software to streamline corporate and retail businesses
PAKISTAN: Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan partners with Haball to digitize supply chain collections
MALAYSIA: Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council Zakat Collection Centre sees increase in business Zakat payers by 16% in 2021
TUNISIA: International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and Arab Africa Trade Bridges program sign work program agreement to support Tunisia
JORDAN: Islamic International Arab Bank promotes Raed Ajjawi to Shariah audit supervisor
MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk issues RM70 million (US$16.69 million) Islamic commercial paper
TURKEY: Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi auctions lease certificates worth TRY425 million (US$31.35 million)
BAHRAIN: SICO appoints Bank Muscat CEO Sheikh Waleed Khamis Al Hashar as non-independent executive director
MALAYSIA: RHB Banking Group CEO Khairussaleh Ramli quits; Mohd Rashid assumes officer-in-charge role in the interim
PAKISTAN: Iftikhar Hameed Khan replaces Naveed Amin as independent director of First IBL Modaraba
Malaysia’s central bank this week launched the country’s latest financial sector blueprint, which features a strategic thrust focused on Islamic finance. In the global Islamic banking sector, we see new leadership in some of the biggest Shariah banks including Abu...
As we leave 2021 behind, two or three big issues are affecting the market. One is the widening implementation of AAOIFI Shariah Standard 59. Some of the rating agencies feel that this will affect the...
Last week, we revealed the five deals shortlisted for the prestigious IFN Overall Deal of the Year and today, we are delighted to announce the winner! The competition was close and every finalist deserves that...
Islamic banking giant Al Rajhi Bank debuted in the Islamic capital market with the issuance of a Saudi riyal-denominated Tier 1 Sukuk paper worth SAR6.5 billion (US$1.73 billion), the first of its kind in the...
Regular issuers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Gambia and Malaysia continue to keep up momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Indonesia The Indonesian government...
With the Muslim population making up around 96% of its total, Senegal remains an attractive investment destination particularly for Islamic investors. The West African nation also has a relatively peaceful political environment and a competitive...
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Islamic syndicated financing market saw a number of deals executed in 2021. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY takes a look at the global Islamic syndicated financing market over the past 12 months. Overview...
The year 2022 seems to be off to a good start as 2021 wraps up on a strong note, preparing the new year for a flurry of new activities and developments. IFN reviews key highlights...
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 Gambia’s nascent Islamic finance industry can expect to see more Shariah compliant activity this year with the latest partnership between a new Gambian Shariah fintech start-up and a consulting firm. Equity Solutionz, a...
GLOBAL: In a stunning race for the most coveted IFN Overall Deal of the Year 2021 award, Saudi Aramco has emerged triumphant, winning the prestigious title with its landmark US$6 billion Sukuk. Five including Saudi...
Regular issuers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Gambia and Malaysia continue to keep up momentum. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Indonesia The Indonesian government was due to conduct a Sukuk auction...
In our weekly segment featuring new or deserving players and funds making an impact on the Islamic financial landscape, this week’s Company Focus segment shines the spotlight on digital assets investment platform QuantDART. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY...
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has unveiled two Islamic–conventional SME facilities totaling RM2 billion (US$477.49 million) to support the country’s net-zero emission ambition and to aid pandemic recovery. VINEETA TAN takes a closer look. The Low...
This week, winners of the IFN Deals of the Year 2021 as well as finalists of the prestigious IFN Overall Deal of the Year 2021 were announced. In the Sukuk space, Pakistan gears up for...
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has held a meeting with the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry to discuss its work plan for 2022 in support of trade and women empowerment in the...
GLOBAL: After weeks of evaluation and deliberation, IFN is pleased to announce the winners of the IFN Deals of the Year 2021. Widely acknowledged as the industry’s most prestigious accolades recognizing the most significant Islamic...
Indonesia, Bangladesh and Gambia begin their 2022 issuance calendar while Malaysia and Brunei continue supporting the market. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY rounds up Shariah sovereign securities developments over the week. Indonesia The Indonesian government raised IDR11 trillion...
Chimera Capital, an Abu-Dhabi based investment management firm and a subsidiary of Chimera Investment, has unveiled the Chimera S&P KSA Shariah Compliant Exchange Traded Fund. JEVITHA MUTHUSAMY takes a closer look at the asset manager’s...
A financing deferment is one of the best options when a customer is faced with difficulty in making monthly payments for financing obtained from a bank. The most important thing to know is that the...
Islamic banks constitute about 18% of the banking system in Palestine, while conventional banks share the remaining 82%. Only three Islamic banks are operating in the Palestine territories of the West Bank with 60 branches,...
In recent times, Indonesia has not only faced frequent natural disasters like volcano eruptions, floods, landslides and earthquakes, but also non-natural disasters such as terrorism and fires, which cause property damage in most public assets....
In this article, BRIAN ADAMS attempts to confirm the state of the Islamic pension market within the UK and hopefully go some way to enlightening the Muslim community in the UK that there are at...
The buzz around investments with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles has been one of the biggest financial stories of late. Investors want their voices and values heard and to help build a better...
Having explained the issuance and normal running of a Sukuk transaction, I would now like to channel the discussion on what happens when a Sukuk transaction experiences a default situation, and could such a situation be redressed without the need for the Sukuk transaction to be wound up? While doing so, I will try as much as possible to avoid using the technical jargon for the sake of easy understanding. As a standard practice, the Sukuk documentation contains a list of probable default situations so as to safeguard investors’ interest on one hand and to keep the obligor disciplined and...
The main financial regulator in Russia — the Central Bank of the Russian Federation or also known as the Bank of Russia — has changed the legal environment to provide equal business conditions to all financial companies including fintech institutions and payment agents, the areas where Shariah compliant companies can develop their activities and increase...
The Islamic banking and finance industry in Malaysia began its journey in 1983 to become one of the most progressive and innovative in terms of providing Islamic banking services and products. The development of human capital is seen as vital for Malaysia’s Islamic financial system to remain competitive and produce more innovative Islamic financial products....
Malaysia has long dominated the global Sukuk market. As at the end of September 2021, it remained at the forefront of the global Sukuk market with issuance totaling US$51.02 billion, which represents 40.1% of total market share (Figure 1). Malaysia’s Sukuk market, although deep and mature, was accessible only to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals...
2022 started with unusually positive news for new product developments. Maybe 2022 will be more positive in terms of these developments than 2021. Nester’s launch in late December last year signals a key step forward in offering alternative savings products to Islamic investors. Following closely on the heels of the HMRC [Her Majesty's Revenue and...
With the start of a new fiscal year, Qatar's banking sector is looking to continue demonstrating resilience and growth to build upon the foundations that were set in 2021 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the uncertainties related to the long-term impact of the pandemic on various business segments in which the Qatari institutions...
The digitalization of money or more exactly the formal representation of money is moving more and more from cash to a digital form: this is one of the highlights of our time. It is one...
Across the globe, growing concern over climate change has led to a significant increase in the pursuit of sustainability and sustainability-themed financial products. According to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a UN-supported network of...
Global equities added gains in the last quarter of 2021, climbing 5.8%, as measured by the S&P Global BMI. Shariah compliant benchmarks, including the S&P Global BMI Shariah and Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) World...
Affordable home financing has always been a conundrum due to the complexity of the issue surrounding increased demand, oversupply and slower income growth compared to increasing trends of prices especially in times of economic vulnerabilities....
The concept of deposit generation in Islamic banks imitates the conventional banks in a sense that both the remunerative and non-remunerative deposit accounts are offered to the customers. ASFAND ZUBAIR MALIK explores. Like conventional banks,...
The Nigerian Sukuk landscape has a busy year ahead, as regulators tighten up guidelines for issuances and both the government and the private sector turn to the Islamic debt capital market for its financing needs. Dr Akeem Oyewale, CEO of Marble Capital, talks to IFN’s Nessreen Tamano about what we can expect in 2022 from Nigeria in this episode of the IFN Podcast.
