The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), and General Insurance Association of Malaysian (GIAM) have broadened the eligibility criteria of the COVID-19 Test Fund (CTF).A joint statement issued on the 23rd of December 2020, stated that the CTF now includes all asymptomatic individual and group medical health insurance policy as well as Takaful certificate holders in Malaysia.  According to the statement, this guideline was initiated in view of the spike in COVID...

Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has affirmed Qatar International Islamic Bank’s (QIIB) strong rating at ‘A’, with a Stable Outlook, according to its full rating report of QIIB, as reported by media.  The affirmation is based on QIIB’s 3Q 2020 financial statements, which indicate that the bank has maintained a robust financial position and responded in a suitable manner to the challenges faced with Qatar’s economy across all sectors.  According to the report, Fitch notes several factors that support the rating, including the high probab...

RAM Rating Services (RAM) has reaffirmed the AA1(s)/Stable rating of Sarawak Power Generation’s (SPG) MYR 215 million Serial Sukuk Musharakah (2006/2021) (the Sukuk).  The enhanced rating reflects support from the Sarawak Energy Berhad Group (SEB), which owns SPG via wholly-owned SEB Power. Malaysian-based SPG holds the licence to build, operate and own a 317 MW gas-turbine facility (the Plant) in Bintulu, Sarawak.  According to RAM, SEB has provided assistance to SPG through the past decade, which is further backed by a Letter of Support...

A temporary shut-down of Bangladesh-based Standard Bank’s (SB) operations has been approved by Bangladesh Bank (BB) in order to assist SB’s completion of its migration process, according to a notice from BB.  On the 4th of February 2020, BB approved the conversion of SB into a fully Shariah-compliant banking entity. The approval was in line with Section 45 of the Bank Company Act, 1991. According to the notice, SB’s services will remain closed from the 30th of December 2020 till the 4th of January 2021. ...

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved Aljazira Takaful Taawuni’s (ATT) request to raise its capital to SAR 470.66 million from SAR 350 million through the issuance of 12.07 million ordinary shares to merge with Solidarity Saudi Takaful (Solidarity).  According to a CMA statement issued on the 23rd of December 2020, the merger and transfer of all of Solidarity’s assets and liabilities to ATT will be carried out through a securities exchange offer. The CMA resolution also includes the approval of the proposed o...

A budget of USD 15.5 billion (AED 57.1 billion) has been approved for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by the Emirates’ ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, according to a statement issued on the 27th of January 2020.  The statement noted that the 2021 Budget accounts for the exceptional and challenging economic conditions of the fiscal year 2020, as well as the impact of the pandemic on the global economy.   This size of the 2021 Budget is 14% lower than the initial AED 66.4 billion planned by the government for 2020. The 2020...

Indonesia’s Ministry of Religion has stated that a large number of problems and gaps in the system prevent the country’s Waqf sector from reaching its true potential. According to the Ministry, land waqf in Indonesia has a potential of 52,475 hectares in 2020, whilst cash Waqf has a potential of IDR 3 trillion. However, problems hampering this growth include the lack of professionalism of the Waqf administrator, minimal budget support from the Government of Indonesia, the lack of data, and the development of waqf betw...

Kazakhstan’s Astana International Exchange (AIX) has announced the cross-listing of three Sukuk issuances of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), according to an official IsDB statement issued on the 26th of December 2020.  The Shariah-compliant fixed-income instruments were issued through IsDB’s special purpose vehicle IDB Trust Services Limited during 2019-2020 under IsDB’s USD 25 billion Medium-Term Note programme. The listed instruments comprise of three tranches of EUR 1 billion (Green Sukuk) at a coupon&...

Do Islamic Banks Perform Better than Conventional Banks?Islamic banking, Credit Risk

What Policy for Islamic Financial Literacy?Islamic banking