Emerging out of COVID-19, the economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to grow by 2.5% year-on-year (YoY) overall (3.6% YoY for the non-oil sectors) in 2021, according to a new report released by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). Data from the Central Bank of the UAE showed that the economy declined by roughly 6.0% in 2020 overall, with the non-oil sector shrinking 5.0% YoY.The report, titled ‘Global Investment Outlook’, states that a rebound in tourism and a pick-up in oil prices, coupled with the UAE’s strong ties to emerging markets should resu...

Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (PEFINDO) has affirmed the ‘idAAA’ rating of Adira Dinamika Multi Finance (Adira Finance) with a Stable Outlook, as well as several outstanding Sukuk and conventional bonds issued by the company. According to an official statement issued on the 14th of January 2021, PEFINDO has affirmed its idAAA(sy) ratings for several outstanding Sukuk Mudharabah of Adira Finance. This includes Sukuk Mudharabah IV Phase I Year 2020 (IDR 200 billion), Sukuk Mudharabah III Phase IV Year 2019 Series B (IDR 10 billion) and ...

Ithmaar Holding has signed an agreement with Bahrain-based real estate development company Naseej to develop a BHD 40 million (USD 105 million) residential project in Barbar, according to media reports.  The project, which consists of 300 villas and 100 residential plots encompassing 150,000 square meters is targeted at the beneficiaries of Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing’s Mazaya programme.  The agreement was signed by Ahmed Abdul Rahim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ithmaar Holding, and Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, General Manager of Naseej, and was witness...

Indonesia’s upcoming sovereign wealth fund, which is set to be launched soon, is targeting to raise USD 20 billion in investments over the next few months, according to President Joko Widodo. Addressing an annual meeting with financial players that was hosted by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Widodo stated that this target was larger than previously announced following positive responses from several firms. Earlier Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister had announced that Jakarta would seed the sovereign wealth fund with USD 5 billion in cash and shares in...

Of late there have been calls for a return to the gold standard for exchange rate determination. Much of these revolve around the nostalgia surrounding fixed exchange rate gold parity systems like Bretton Woods and its prior versions.  While it is true that the post-war period from the late 1940s to the early 1970s was indeed a period of strong and stable growth, it would be incorrect to attribute this to the gold standard alone. For just as the Bretton Woods collapsed, at least two previous versions had also collapsed. In each case, the collapse was caused by massive speculative attacks...

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in the United Arab Emirates has diversified its product offering and asset classes with Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) trading, via its listing of Al Mal Capital. According to a statement, the listing of REITs on the Exchange broadens the scope of opportunities now available to both domestic and foreign investors.  The REITs trading, which commenced on the DFM on the 18th of January 2021, was highlighted by the Chairman of the DFM, Essa Kazim, who noted the potential for the new asset class to gain momentum in line with REI...

RAM Ratings Services (RAM) expects Sukuk issuances in Malaysia to come in at between MYR 60-70 billion for 2021. Ruslena Ramli, Head of Islamic Finance at RAM stated that this was attributable to slower economic growth amidst uncertainty caused by COVID-19, which has caused corporates to re-look at future growth prospects post-pandemic.  According to RAM’s forecasts, the issuance of private debt securities (PDS), which includes quasi-government and corporate bond issuances, is anticipated at between MYR 100-110 billion in 2021. Of this, Suku...

Banks across Malaysian will continue to provide repayment support to individuals or businesses affected by the current movement control order (MCO 2.0), according to a joint statement issued by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM). The assistance which involves the extension of the moratorium will be available only upon request from the respective bank. The statement noted that the extensions are applicable to all targeted repayment assistanc...

A new economic aid package worth MYR 15 billion (USD 3.7 billion) was announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, on the 18th of January 2021, to assist in mitigating the impacts of COVID-19.  Speaking at a televised address to the nation, Muhyiddin stated that 22 initiatives would be implemented under the new Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package (PERMAI), based on three core objectives. The first objective of combating COVID-19 will include the implementation of a nation-wide COVID-19 vaccination pro...