Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition has approved the planned merger between Shariah-compliant lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Samba Financial Group (Samba) on the 27th of January 2021, according to local media reports.  In October 2020, NCB entered into a merger agreement with Samba to implement the merger between the two banks in accordance with articles issued by Saudi’s Capital Market Authority. The merger is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2021, local media reported.  Under the transa...

RAM Ratings forecasts a default on MYR 10.28 million (combined profit and principal payment) of Cendana Sejati (CS)’s Senior Sukuk, due on the 19th of February 2021. Under CS’s MYR 360 million Senior Sukuk Murabahah Medium Term Notes Programme (Senior Sukuk Programme), MYR 70 million remains outstanding. The programme is currently rated C3/Negative.  According to the latest reports, only around 3% scheduled monthly instalments were collected from the portfolio’s consumer receivables –...

According to separate Tadawul filings dated 27th of January 2021, Saudi Arabian Takaful operators Aljazira Takaful Taawuni (ATT) and Solidarity Saudi Takaful (Solidarity) have obtained approval from their respective shareholders regarding developments of their impending merger deal.  ATT’s shareholders approved the merger with Solidarity through capital increase during an EGM held on the 26th of January 2021. The merger will take place through the issuance of 0.483 shares in ATT for every share in Solidarit...

The Federal Cabinet, on the 26th of January 2021, rejected The Ministry of Finance’s proposal to place F-9 (Fatima Jinnah) Park of Islamabad as the asset-backed guarantee for issuance of the Sukuk bond to raise USD 750 million to USD1 billion for budget financing. This announcement came just a day after the Government of Pakistan stated its decision to use the F-9 Park as a guarantee for the Sukuk facility. The Minister of Finance and the Secretary Finance could not convince the Cabinet that this was the better...

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has issued a permit on the 27 January 2021, for the formation of Indonesia’s largest Shariah bank under the name PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI). BSI involves the combination of three state-owned Islamic banks, namely PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, PT Bank BNI Syariah, and PT Bank BRISyariah. The merger is scheduled to be effective as of the 1st of February 2021. The approval was marked by a copy of the OJK Board of Commissioners’ Decr...

The Government of Malaysia’s local and foreign currency long-term issuer and local currency senior unsecured debt received an A3 rating with a Stable Outlook, from Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s). The Stable Outlook is based on Moody’s view that based on current assumptions, the risks to Malaysia’s credit profile remain steady at the A3 level. Moody’s stated that key drivers for the rating affirmation include Malaysia’s robust medium-term growth prospects, resilient credit profile and economic debt car...

Some regulations and policies have begun to be adopted in the Arab World, according to a new UNEP FI reportAwareness gaps about the differentiation between sustainable finance & philanthropy and humanitarian finance slow developmentAs regulators build their own capacity on sustainable finance across the region, financial institutions that aren't yet preparing will be left behind We are in the early stages of regulators and the financial sector adopting frameworks for sustainable finance in the Arab World, according to a new report from UNEP FI. Many challenges remain: no...

In celebration of its 10th year anniversary, the Royal Award of Islamic Finance (RAIF) released the RAIF Award Winner Commemorative Booklet, to showcase the noble achievements of its previous award winners. The RAIF is spearheaded by the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative, supported by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).  According to the RAIF website, the booklet highlighted the works and accomplishments of previous winners, focusing on the ways in which these distinguished recipients have made...

Infracap Resources’ proposed MYR 15 billion Sukuk Murabahah Programme (The Sukuk Programme) has received a preliminary rating of AAA(s)/Stable from RAM Ratings (RAM). Infracap Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sarawak State Government (the State) is used as a funding vehicle, and its rating mirrors the State’s credit strength, according to RAM. The Sukuk Programme will be utilized to fund a total of 11 development projects throughout Sarawak and could generate a multiplier effect over the long term to support the State&r...

The United Overseas Bank Asset Management (UOBAM) Malaysia, a sister company of United Overseas Bank Malaysia, has launched an environmental, social and governance (ESG) fund to attract retail investors. The United-i Asia ESG Income Fund (UiAIF) will invest in equities and debt instruments issued by companies in Asia (except Japan) whose businesses give the highest priority to ESG-related business models. This is a Shariah-compliant ESG fund providing retail investors with dividends and capital appreciation over the medium to long term. A fundamental principle of Shariah-based inve...