Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has affirmed Sharjah Islamic Bank’s (SIB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at BBB+ with a Stable Outlook. In addition, Fitch has affirmed SIB’s Viability Rating (VR) at bb+.   Ratings Rationale SIB’s IDRs reflect a high probability of support available from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities (AA-/Stable), which have a strong capacity to support the banking system due to sovereign wealth funds and recurring revenue from hydrocarbon production, despite decreased oil prices. Fitch anticipate...

The National Mortgage Corporation of Malaysia, also known as Cagamas, has launched aggregate issuances of Sukuk and conventional bonds worth MYR 1.045 billion, according to a company statement released on the 18th of May 2021. The issuances comprise of MYR 345 million Islamic Commercial Papers (ICPs) with a three-month tenure, MYR 300 million three-month Conventional Commercial Papers (CCPs) and MYR 400 million three-year Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTNs).   Why it matters?   Proceeds of the issuances will be used to fund the purchase of house financ...

On the back of the realisation of rising foreign direct investments (FDIs) and an inching up of the consumer confidence index, Indonesia’s economy is expected to reach almost 7% growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2021 (2Q 2021), said Coordinating Minister for Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, according to media reports.  Why it Matters?  At the end of March 2021, realisation of FDIs reached 54.6%, whilst the consumer confidence index (of those with expenses below IDR 5 million) was 90.1,...

Certain sectors in Malaysia, including Islamic banking, will continue on their growth trajectories in spite of the COVID-19 situation, according to Fitch Ratings (Fitch). This confidence from the ratings agency reiterates the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIF)’s belief that banks that follow Shariah principles are foresighted and therefore better prepared for high-risk circumstances such as those arising from COVID-19.  Why it Matters? Chief Executive Officer of the CIIF, Dr Azura Othman, said that the CI...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has assigned preliminary ratings of Zamarad Asset’s (Zamarad) Tranche 6 MYR 80 million Class A Sukuk as AAA/Stable, and MYR 20 million Class B Sukuk as AA2/Stable. This marks the sixth issuance under Zamarad’s MYR 2 billion Sukuk Murabahah Programme (the Programme).   Acting as a special-purpose vehicle, Zamarad was incorporated to undertake securitisation of personal financing facilities from the business partners of RCE Marketing (RCEM), which is a Malaysian financing services company. Ratings Rationale Tranche...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has signed a USD 4 million trade finance agreement with Commercial Bank Kyrgyzstan (CBK), according to a statement released on the 17th of May 2021.  Why it Matters?  The agreement comes under the three-year USD 150 million Framework Agreement signed between ITFC and the Kyrgyz Government in 2019, and will ensure further cooperation between the two parties to boost private sector development in Kyr...

ALAMI Fintek Sharia (ALAMI) has completed the acquisition process of a Shariah Rural Bank (BPR) located in Jakarta, Indonesia. In an official statement on the 17th of May 2021, Dima Djani, the Chief Executive Officer of the Indonesian Shariah Fintech peer-to-peer lending platform explained that the acquisition process and additional capital will be carried out in stages with the deal valued at over IDR 50 billion. Why it Matters? Contrary to acquiring fintechs like most other banks, ALAMI’s strategy is to improve the BPR through the application of its technol...

Having recognised the Fintech industry as a core component of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy objective, Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has set up the National Fintech Strategy, and has also teamed up with Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Financial Centre to introduce the Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH). Supporting these initiatives, Islamic fintech is anticipated to play a key role in the sector’s growth. Data from the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 estimate Qatar’s Islamic Fintech market size at USD 2 billion by 2...

Egypt’s Senate Approves Bill in Principle to Issue Sovereign Sukuk Law  Egypt’s Senate has approved in principle the bill submitted by the Government of Egypt to issue the Sovereign Sukuk Law on the 17th of May 2021, according to local media reports.  Why it Matters?  There is currently a legislative void preventing the Government of Egypt from issuing Sovereign Sukuk, which necessitated the preparation of an integrated draft law to regulate sovereign instruments. The 24-article bill, which was approved by...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has reaffirmed the AA1/Stable rating of UniTapah’s Sukuk Murabahah of up to MYR 600 million (2014/2035). UniTapah is the concessionaire for the development and maintenance of University Teknology MARA’s (UiTM) campus in Perak under a 23-year concession agreement with the Government of Malaysia.  Ratings Rationale The reaffirmation is based on UniTapah’s steady cashflow and robust debt service coverage. Under the concession agreement, UniTapah receives monthly payments made up of availabilit...