KUALA LUMPUR, 1st May 2024 – The 18th IFN Awards Ceremony Kuala Lumpur took place on the 30th April 2024, honoring the outstanding achievements in the field of Islamic finance. Following the IFN Awards Ceremony Dubai held on the 25th April 2024, which celebrated the most impactful Islamic finance transactions in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, the Kuala Lumpur event recognized exceptional contributions from leaders in Southeast Asia.
The winners of 20 different categories under the IFN Service Providers Poll 2023, IFN Non-Banking Financial Institutions Poll 2023, IFN Awards Law 2023, IFN Best Banks Poll 2023 and IFN Deals of the Year 2023, were recognized that night.
CIMB Group’s entities were the big winners of the night taking home four awards. CIMB Islamic won Malaysia’s Best Overall Islamic Bank, while CIMB Investment scooped three awards — the IFN Indonesia Deal of the Year Award for jointly issuing Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance III’s Sukuk and green Sukuk worth US$1 billion each with Standard Chartered Saadiq; the IFN Regulatory Deal of the Year for Bank Muamalat Malaysia’s inaugural RM350 million (US$74.18 million) additional Tier 1 Sukuk; and the IFN M&A Deal of the Year for Malaysia Building Society’s RM1.01 billion (US$215.57 million) acquisition of Malaysian Industrial Development Finance. Mohd Ekmal Mohd Zazi, Regional Head, Wholesale Banking, of CIMB Islamic, received the awards on behalf of CIMB Islamic, and Nor Masliza Sulaiman, Regional Head, Investment Banking & DCEO, accepted the accolades for Deals of the Year.
Bursa Malaysia retained its crown for the world’s Best Stock Exchange for Islamic Listings for the seventh consecutive year. Stephanie Tan, Head, Investor Strategy and Development accepted the award on behalf of the exchange.
Silver Formula won the IFN Deal of the Year awards for Malaysia and Structured Finance. The company’s Tranche 1 Sukuk under its RM100 million (US$21.2 million) program supports its corporate social responsibility program by freeing funds from a large, valuable real estate asset to support the development of a university in Perak, Malaysia. Bank Pembangunan Malaysia, Public Investment Bank, Pacific Trustees, NewParadigm Capital Markets, QI Group, Adnan Sundra & Low were among the recipients of this award.
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank-backed reNIKOLA Holdings’s RM70 million (US$14.83 million) Islamic green bridge financing facility won the IFN Commodity Murabahah/Tawarruq Deal of the Year, with reNikola’s Wong Kian Meng, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chua Chon Wee, Head, Corporate Finance accepting the award.
KPJ Healthcare’s CFO Norhaizam Mohammad received the award for the IFN Wakalah Deal of the Year for the RM555 million (US$117.59 million) sustainability Sukuk, issued by Affin Hwang Investment Bank and HSBC Amanah Malaysia.
Fusang bagged the IFN Most Innovative Deal of the Year for successfully tokenizing and listing a digital Sukuk facility from an existing International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation Sukuk. CEO Henry Chong and Executive Chairman David Chong were there to receive the award.
Expressing gratitude to all participants, Andrew Morgan, the managing director at REDmoney Group, emphasized the significance of the IFN Awards in recognizing the accomplishments of the Islamic finance industry. He stated: “The IFN Awards are an industry benchmark of excellence and we are humbled to be able to recognize so many exceptional and groundbreaking initiatives and deals of the global Islamic finance industry in a record-breaking year for the IFN Awards in terms of diversity and participation. This is a testament to the continued growth and excellence within the Islamic finance industry.”
For more information about the IFN Awards Kuala Lumpur and a complete list of winners, please visit the official IFN Awards website at https://www.islamicfinancenews.com/awards-polls.
About the Awards
IFN Awards were established in 2006 and recognize those who have participated in the industry’s most groundbreaking transactions each year. These awards include IFN Service Providers, IFN Non-Banking Financial Institutions, IFN Best Banks and IFN Deals of the Year.
About Islamic Finance news (IFN)
IFN is the leading Islamic finance news and solutions provider in the world, housing the largest pool of Islamic finance-related articles and coverage. Providing breaking news, reports and analyses through its multimedia channels, IFN covers the whole spectrum of the Shariah compliant finance industry, leveraging its unrivaled connections, team of journalists and global network of market expert correspondents. IFN has over 65,000 readers worldwide and has organized over 300 events across 35 countries.