King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a privately-funded city in Saudi Arabia, has announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Saudi British Bank (SABB), according to local media reports.  The agreement will enable the SABB to provide various Shariah-compliant financing solutions to KAEC’s clients for housing offers and ready-made housing units in the residential areas of the Economic City, according to a statement released by KAEC recently.  Ahmed Ibrahim Linjawi, Chief Executive Officer of KAEC stated that the partnership with SAB...

Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (PEFINDO) has affirmed the ‘idAAA’ rating of Adira Dinamika Multi Finance (Adira Finance) with a Stable Outlook, as well as several debt securities issued by the company.   According to an official statement, PEFINDO affirmed the idAAA(sy) rating for Adira Finance’s Shelf Registered Sukuk Mudharabah III Phase II/2018 Series worth IDR 62.0 billion, which is set to mature on the 21st of March, 2021.  In addition, the rating agency affirmed the ‘idAAA’ rating for the Shelf Registered Bond III...

Wahed Inc (Wahed), an Islamic finance fintech company based in the United States of America announced its takeover of United Kingdom (UK)-based Niyah Ltd (Niyah), on the 17th of December 2020. Niyah runs a digital banking app catering to the 3.4 million-strong Muslim community.  This acquisition will support Wahed’s product expansion and goal to serve as the ‘leading one-stop-shop’ for Shariah-compliant financial products and services. Niyah, a challenger banking app, launched in January 2020, making it the first fintech Islamic banking app and ethical f...

An improvement in regional relations between Qatar and its regional ‘Quartet’ (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt) is anticipated with the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on the 5th of January 2021, according to Fitch Ratings (Fitch).However, high public sector debt will likely continue to pull down Qatar’s sovereign ratings. The increase in geopolitical risks facing Qatar in 2017 led to Fitch’s downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to AA- from AA in August 2017, with this rating affirmed in June 2020 (Outlook Stable)....

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) and Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) have signed their second agreement via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and enhance cooperation with the objective of promoting development within the Islamic financial services industry.The agreement, which was finalised on the 16th of December 2020 will focus on increasing awareness and capacity building via joint organisation and the hosting of training programmes, focus group discussions, conferences, workshops and seminars, aimed at supervisory and regulatory a...

The latest edition of the World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor launched on the 17th of December 2020 expects Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) to increase 6.7% year-on-year (YoY) in 2021, recovering from an expected contraction of 5.8% YoY in 2020.According to the report, the containment of the third wave of COVID-19 cases, together with the efficient roll-out and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is likely to lead to greater investor confidence, and a faster-than-anticipated recovery in consumer demand. This in turn, is expected to lead to a stronger recovery in economic acti...

The Government of Indonesia has officially announced the name of the merger entity of three state-owned Islamic banks, as Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), with the fixed ticker code BRIS, according to amendments made to the draft summary of the merger on the 11th of December 2020, as reported in local media.As of February 2021, Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM) and Bank BNI Syariah (BNIS) will officially merge with Bank BRISyariah (BRIS), to form BSI, which will be Indonesia’s largest Islamic bank. The merger was officially approved at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of BRIS held on the 1...

Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has affirmed Qatar International Islamic Bank’s (QIIB) rating at A2, with a Stable Outlook, highlighting the strength of the bank’s financial position amidst several market factors and challenges, according to media reports.  Regarding QIIB’s credit strengths, Moody’s emphasised the bank’s robust asset quality, capitalisation and profitability, as well as its resilient funding profile, underpinned by a retail-focused franchise and high probability of support from the Governme...

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the ratings of West Coast Expressway’s (WCE) MYR 1 billion Guaranteed Sukuk Murabahah Programme (2015/2036). Tranche 1 of the Sukuk Murabahah has been rated AAA(bg)/Stable, while Tranche 2 has been rated AAA(fg)/Stable.  WCE engages in designing and developing expressways in Malaysia, and is executing the West Coast Expressway (the Expressway) project. RAM’s rating reflects the binding and unconditional kafalah guarantees provided by Bank Pembangunan Malaysia (AAA/Stabl...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has launched a new Letter of Credit (LC) confirmation facility to expand its private sector interventions.  According to an ITFC statement issued on the 14th of December 2020, the newly developed LC confirmation facility is available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in IsDB member countries, where exporters can use the facility to boost trade volumes in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. &nb...