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On 10 November, the Government of Oman's (Ba3 negative) Ministry of Finance announced a OMR25 million ($65 million) sukuk issuance, the government’s first sukuk issuance available to retail investors1 . The issuance is credit positive…...

In this exclusive episode of the Moody's podcast for IFN, Christian de Guzman and Alexander Perjéssy discuss sovereign credit perspectives related to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia....

Insurers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are more exposed than their European peers to the risk of recoverability of their receivables over the next 12-18 months, as their counterparties' liquidity tightens across the…...

Islamic finance penetration is very low in Nigeria but is starting to gain a foothold as the authorities seek to increase banking penetration in the country's large Muslim population. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)…...

Islamic banking remains nascent in North Africa, largely for historical and political reasons. In recent years, however, many governments have started to lay out legal and regulatory frameworks that will set the stage for expansion,…...

Islamic banking has made little headway in Africa despite the continent's large Muslim populations. For example Sub-Saharan Africa has around 16% of the world's Muslim population but its Sharia-law compliant banking assets make up only…...

Since the start of 2020, Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of Bangladesh, has approved the requests of three banks to convert to Islamic banks, indicating an increase in the central bank's willingness to allow…...

On 12 October, Bank Negara Indonesia (P.T.) (BNI, Baa2 stable, baa31 ), Bank Raykat Indonesia (P.T.) (BRI, Baa2 stable, baa2) and Bank Mandiri (P.T.) (Mandiri, Baa2 stable, baa3), together with their Islamic subsidiaries, signed a…...

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest market for Islamic finance. Despite the pandemic-induced economic recession and sharp oil price decline, we expect the ongoing shift to Shariahcompliant finance in Saudi Arabia to continue over the…...

Saudi Arabia’s (A1 negative) 31 active primary insurers reported a sharp increase in profitability in the first half of 2020, as claims reduced significantly as a result of coronavirusinduced “lockdown” measures. However, we expect future…...

Coronavirus-related economic and market upheavals have strained Islamic asset managers’ revenue and cash flow, but the sector has remained relatively resilient thanks to persistently strong demand for Shariah compliant investments. Growth in Islamic assets under…...

On 10 September 2020, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC, A2 negative) finalised the terms of a multi-tranche $1.3 billion green sukuk. SEC reported an order book of more than $5.2 billion for the offering, highlighting the…...

The profitability of asset managers in most Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will face moderate to high pressure over the next 12-18 months, reflecting the coronavirus crisis and an accompanying drop in oil prices. These…...

In Moody’s view, Saudi Arabia’s (A1 negative) credit profile is underpinned by the government's robust but deteriorating balance sheet, and supported by substantial external liquidity buffers. However, government revenue remains vulnerable to declines in oil…...

Sukuk come in two forms, “asset-based” and “asset-backed”. Asset-based sukuk, despite having assets in their structure, are effectively a pass-through of the unsecured credit risk of the obligor. The obligor may be a corporate, bank,…...

A recovery in market conditions and an increase in the gross borrowing requirements of the world's largest sukuk sovereign issuers will lead to a rise in nominal sukuk issuance this year greater than we had...

Economic disruptions from the coronavirus will be detrimental to Islamic banks, but a concentration on retail financing and other structural features will help them withstand financial stress...

We expect sukuk issuance to fall by just 5% this year, despite the Coronavirus outbreak, reversing four consecutive years of rapid growth. Some $77 billion in sukuk was issued in the first six months of...

The Islamic finance sector remains underrepresented in the global financial system and has ample room to expand. We expect it will do so in 2020 and beyond as demand for Shariahcompliant financial instruments continues to...

We expect Turkey's Islamic banking assets to double over the next five to 10 years to 10% of total banking assets from a low base of current 5.8% as the government injects new momentum into...

Islamic banking in Bangladesh has ample growth potential, underpinned by a robust domestic economy and an expanding population with a large pool of untapped customers. However, a lack of comprehensive legal and regulatory infrastructure, coupled...

The asset management industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is set to grow at a steady pace over the next decade, supported by the region's increased diversification away from oil, and by new...

We expect total sukuk issuance of around $130 billion in 2019, at the top end of the $120-$130 billion range we projected at the beginning of the year, and up from $123 billion in 2018...

Islamic banking in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries remains underdeveloped, although the region has a large Muslim population. Governments, however, are stepping up efforts to develop the sector by laying out legal and regulatory...