Saudi Arabian Takaful operators Aljazira Takaful Taawuni (ATT) and Solidarity Saudi Takaful (Solidarity) have obtained the approval of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for their impending merger deal, according to local media reports. The approval was granted on the 30th of November 2020, according to separate bourse filings by the Takaful operators on the 1st of December 2020.  Both ATT and Solidarity will continue to finalise other necessary regulatory approvals to complete the merger, which will be followed by the issuance of t...

University Teknologi MARA’s (UiTM) subsidiary, UiTM Solar Power Dua (UiTM Solar 2) is planning to issue a proposed Green Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk of up to MYR 100 million to be used for its solar power plant projects, according to local media reports.  UiTM ultimately owns UiTM Energy & Facilities (UiTM Energy), which is the parent company of UiTM Solar 2. The latter was set up to develop and operate a 25MW solar power plant in Johor. Meanwhile, UiTM Energy currently operates a 50MW solar power plant in Pahang.  ...

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced the closure of the November 2020 Sukuk issuance worth SAR 794.5 million under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk programme, according to a statement released on the 26th of November 2020.  The latest Sukuk issuances were divided into two fixed profit rate tranches, according to the MoF statement. The first tranche of the November 2020 issuance was sized at SAR 199.79 million over a seven-year tenure with a final profit rate of 1.73% and a final yield of 1.85%, with a...

Egypt’s Finance Minister, Mohamed Maait, stated that the Finance Ministry’s forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country ranged between 2.4% and 4.0% for the fiscal period 2021-2022. This was lower than the pre-COVID-19 GDP estimate of 6.0-6.5% for this period.  Despite this reduction, the Egyptian economy has been reaping the benefits of the country’s economic reform efforts, which is allowing for positive economic growth amidst the global pandemic. The country’s unemployment rate declined to 7.3% in the third quarter of 2...

Al Rajhi Capital, a leading financial Service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia estimates the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 4.2% year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q 2020), an improvement from the 7.0% YoY contraction experienced during the second quarter of 2020. The report stated that the spending in the local market, predominantly in the retail, food & beverages, and health segments, continues to support the economy of Saudi Arabia. According to the report by&nb...

Chairman of Bursa Malaysia, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, has predicted long-term potential for Islamic finance in the post- Covid-19 era, led by the sector’s principles of inclusivity and its ability to promote financial stability. By highlighting the gradual move of Islamic finance strategies towards maintaining sustainable development, Omar noted that sustainable and responsible investments would help the expansion of Islamic Finance.  Speaking at the virtual Shariah Audit Conference 2020 held...

Three Indonesian Islamic Banks signed a merger deal last October aiming to increase the efficiency, performance, and thus competitiveness of Indonesian Islamic banks at both national and international levels. Indonesia's Islamic economy is currently ranked 4th in the world (moved up by 1 rank from the previous year) following Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Having the largest (87%) Muslim population in the world, Indonesia's Islamic finance market r...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed its ratings on Alpha Circle’s MYR 540 million Senior Sukuk Musharakah and MYR 55 million Junior Sukuk Musharakah at AA-IS and AIS respectively, while revising the ratings outlook to Negative from Stable. According to MARC the current outstanding of Senior Sukuk is MYR 160 million and Junior Sukuk is MYR 55 million.  Alpha Circle acts as a funding vehicle for Malaysia’s National Foreigners Enforcement and Registration System (NERS), which is a contractor that has undertaken the registration of foreign nation...

Sayed Abdel-Fadil, Head of the Central Department for Finance at Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has revealed two potential Sukuk offerings to take place in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q 2021), according to local media reports.  According to Abdel-Fadil, an unlisted agricultural reclamation company is preparing documents to offer EGP 250 million worth of Sukuk in 2021 to fund agricultural projects, and is planning to submit a formal request to the FRA in January 2021. Abdel-Fadil noted that as the unnamed company is not listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), this...

The sale of Green Sukuk Retail - Savings Sukuk ST007 Series offered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance from the 4th to the 25th of November 2020 has raised IDR 5.42 trillion in total volume of purchase orders from 16,992 investors, according to a statement released by the Directorate General of Financing and Risk Management (DJPPR) on the 30th of November 2020.  The ST007 series is part of the Government of Indonesia’s commitment to address the impacts of climate change and is the second Green Retail Sukuk to be issued, following...