Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) entities recorded sovereign issuances amounting to USD 66.3 billion in 2020, according to the GCC Bonds and Sukuk Market Survey 2020 report published by Kuwait Financial Centre. Sovereign issuances recorded a rise of 25% year-on-year (YoY) as compared to the USD 52.9 billion raised during 2019, according to the report. The report adds that in the GCC, primary issuances of bonds and Sukuk amounted to USD 132.7 billion in 2020, up 16% YoY compared to the USD 114.2 billion raised in 2019. In 2...

Kuwait-based Kamco Invest (KI) has reported the largest Assets Under Management (AUM) in the region and has made six debt capital markets (DCM) transactions worth USD 2.6 billion during 2020. The above transactions were done in two regional and four local offerings in USD and KWD at both fixed and variable rates. KI has arranged deals exceeding USD 23.8 billion from its inception to 31st December 2020 in debt capital markets, equity, and mergers and acquisitions. Since the launch of its DCM practice, KI has successfully issued over USD 9.7 billion in conventional and Islamic d...

DinarStandard’s latest ‘State of the Global Islamic Economy Report’ published in November 2020 ranks Indonesia fourth, amongst Islamic economics, after Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The ranking has improved since 2018 (when Indonesia ranked 10) mainly due to its halal food and modest fashion industries. The report ranks Indonesia at six in the Islamic finance segment, reflecting the country’s under-developed Shariah-banking sector – accounting only 6% of the country’s banking assets. The establishment of PT Bank Syariah...

United Kingdom (UK)-based, Gatehouse Bank has lowered rates on their entire buy-to-let product range, including multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs) and house-in-multiple occupations (HMOs), for all buyers within or outside the UK, individuals or corporations.  The new rates for UK residents are as follows: two-year fixed term at 3.49% (reduced by 0.25%) for 65% Finance to Value (FTV), and 3.69% for 80% FTV; five-year fixed rate buy-to-let products at 3.85% for 65% FTV (reduced by 0.35%), and at 4.05% (reduced by 0.34%) for 80% FTV. (FTV is the Shar...

Pakistan lender Meezan Bank has become the first Islamic bank to be recognised as a designated market maker for Shariah-compliant debt instruments on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), according to local media reports.  PSX welcomed the on-boarding of Meezan Bank on the 1st of February 2021 with a gong ceremony, in which an agreement was signed between the two parties to mark the occasion.  Farrukh H Khan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PSX, welcomed the designation of Meezan Bank and stated that this was an indicator of the b...

Saudi-based Shariah-compliant lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced its plan to change its name to ‘Saudi National Bank’, after the conclusion of its intended merger with Samba Financial Group (Samba).  According to a Tadawul statement filed by NCB on the 1st of February 2021, the committee responsible for preparing the integration plan decided that the proposed name of Saudi National Bank shall be the new name of the merged bank, effective from the date of merger. NCB noted that the merger remained su...

Ifeoluwa Dixon, Senior Vice President and Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management at FBNQuest Asset Management, highlighted the role Islamic finance could play in supporting Nigeria’s economy. Speaking during a recent discussion titled “Islamic Finance, Economic Empowerment, and Financial Inclusion”, Dixon noted that Islamic finance could be a strategic funding source for financial markets to broaden bases and become more inclusive. Given the principles behind Shariah-compliant financing, such funds could be used towards the country’s infrastr...

Qatar’s banking system could see more consolidation triggered by pressure on banks’ profitability from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent statement by Fitch Ratings (Fitch).  Describing Qatar’s market as ‘overbanked’, Fitch stated that banks with weaker franchises and limited pricing power would benefit from more consolidation. In addition, common government ownership is also a key driver for consolidation to create banks with better capital and heightened competitive advantages to support the Qatar Vision 2030 development plan, according to...

The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), highlighted the performance of the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia and its rate of growth in 2020, as compared to conventional banking, during COVID-19. According to data from the State of Global Islamic Economy Indicator Report 2019/20, Indonesia’s Islamic Banking industry currently ranks 4th in the world.   Speaking at the inauguration of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia on the 1st of February 2021, President Jokowi stated he was pleased with the performance of the country’s Islamic ba...

The President of Parti Warisan Sabah (Sabah Heritage Party), Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, stated that the Government of Malaysia must commit MYR 5 billion to expand testing, tracing and monitoring efforts of COVID-19 cases, as well as for the roll-out of the vaccination programme. According to Mohd Shafie, it is essential to Malaysia that capital is set aside for these efforts; given the drastic economic impacts of further Movement Control Order (MCO) extensions. Mohd Shafie added that until the pandemic and infections are contained there will be n...