Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has affirmed Qatar Islamic Bank’s (QIB) long term deposit rating at A1, with a Stable Outlook, according to local media reports. With a market share of around 10.5% of Qatar’s banking system assets, QIB was reported to remain Qatar’s second-largest bank and the largest Islamic bank, with a consolidated asset base of QAR 170 billion, based on a Credit Opinion Report by Moody’s.  According to the report, QIB’s rating reflects the bank’s robust asset quality, sufficient capit...

Malaysian property developer, Sime Darby Property (SD Property) has revised its MYR 4.5 billion Sukuk Musharakah programme to include terms for the potential issuance of ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk, according to local media reports. In a statement released on the 25th of November 2020, SD Property stated that the revision aligns with plans to broaden the funding structure for the group’s working capital and to support long-term business growth.   The MYR 4.5 billion Sukuk Musharakah programme has also been assigned...

Jordan’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been affirmed at BB- by Fitch Ratings (Fitch), with a Negative Outlook. The ratings are supported by fiscal and economic reforms, as well as the availability of domestic and external financing linked to the liquid banking sector, public pension funds and funding from Jordan’s external partners. Meanwhile, Fitch reported that the ratings are constrained by high government debt, large external financing needs, weak growth as well as domestic and regional political risks.  Jordan’s Negative Ou...

The Government of Pakistan is anticipated to hire advisers to issue USD-denominated Sukuk and Eurobonds in the international capital market via Medium-Term Note (MTN) programmes for an initial tenure of one year, according to local media reports.  On the 25th of November 2020, Kamran Afzal, Spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance told media that the Government is evaluating the technical and financial bids submitted by financial institutions to structure the international bonds while adding that the process and selection of advisers would be completed soon. ...

Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Argus Suparmanto, has identified the need for strategy development and mapping to improve the performance of the Halal industry within the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), with a proposition to push the IMT-GT to become a regional and global Halal economic power.  According to a local media report, the IMT-GT has surpassed targets, with 4,054 export-oriented Halal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in existence at the end of October 2020, compared to a target of 3,000 SMEs by 2021. Therefore, t...

Speaking at the Indonesia Islamic Festival 2020 webinar on the 26th of November 2020, Indonesian Vice President, Ma’ruf Amin, stated that there was an opportunity to grow Indonesia’s Halal exports given the demand for Halal products globally and due to the fact that Halal exports still comprised a small part of the economy. Amin further explained that COVID-19 had not impacted the Shariah economy as severely as conventional economic activity, with the global Islamic economy contracting 2.5% in 2020 and the global economy anticipat...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed its ratings on Sunway Treasury Sukuk’s (Sunway Treasury) issuances under the MYR 2 billion Sukuk Programme and MYR 10 billion Islamic Commercial Paper/Islamic Medium-Term Notes (ICP/IMTN) programmes at MARC-1IS(cg)/AA-IS(cg), with a Stable Outlook. Concurrently, the ratings agency has also affirmed its ratings on Sunway Berhad’s (Sunway or the Group) MYR 2 billion Commercial Papers/Medium-Term Notes programmes at MARC-1/AA-.  The ratings on Sunway Treasury’s issuances are equa...

The sale of the Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS) Retail SWR001 Series offered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance from the 9th of October 2020 to the 20th of November 2020 has raised IDR 14.91 billion in total volume of purchase orders from 1,041 wakifs, according to a statement released by the Directorate General of Financing and Risk Management (DJPPR).  The SWR001 series, which uses a Wakalah contract using state property and the 2020 State Budget Project as underlying assets, was offered as part of the Government of Indonesia’s support...

Shariah Investing Dialogue 2020 Series 2 - Shariah Fraternity: Setting the Pace of Innovative Thinking

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has stated that Islamic banking in Malaysia has great potential to capitalise on Islamic social financial instruments such as Zakat, Waqf and alms, according to local media reports.  Speaking at a launch event by Bank Islam Malaysia, Mustapa noted that it was not only the Government of Malaysia’s responsibility to revive the economy, but also banking and financial institutions had a role to play in rebuilding the country, while adding that Islamic social finance wa...