According to a senior official at the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Qatar has seen an unmatched economic recovery in the third quarter of 2020, allowing it to outperform its regional peers.  Managing Director of Business Development at the QFC, Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad al-Thani, noted that the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index indicated sustained improvement in business conditions in the non-energy private sector. Output and new businesses continued to register growth whilst firms saw operations going bac...

In the latest edition of the Islamic Banking Index Survey, Emirates Islamic shares results of the progress, penetration and current and future perception pertaining to the United Arab Emirates’ Islamic banking sector. This year’s survey reveals a slight reduction across key metrics compared to 2019, attributable to the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy. The overall penetration of Islamic banking fell to 58% in 2020 compared to 60% recorded in 2019, with overall penetration of Islamic finance products amongst Muslims at 69% in 2020 (70% in 2019). An...

Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has encouraged the digitisation of Islamic financial services to boost economic growth of the country, according to local media reports.  Speaking at the close of the 2020 Fintech Summit and the 2020 National Fintech Week in Jakarta, Amin stated that Indonesia’s substantial potential for development of Shariah economics and finance should be supported by innovation in financial services, such as  developing financial technology (fintech) facilities and a process of digitising transactions in accordance with...

The National Mortgage Corporation of Malaysia, also known as Cagamas, has announced combined short-term issuances of MYR 545 million, made up of MYR 245 million three-month Islamic commercial papers (ICPs), and MYR 300 million three-month conventional commercial papers (CCPs), according to local media reports.  Proceeds from the issuances will be used to fund the purchase of housing loans and house financing from the financial system, according to Datuk Chung Chee Leong, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cagamas.  Leong added that despite downside risks on the...

Egypt’s Cairo for Investment and Real Estate Development (CIRA) will be offering EGP 600 million worth of Sukuk Al-Mudarabah in December 2020, according to local media reports. EFG Hermes has been appointed as the issuance manager of the Sukuk. Local media reported that CIRA is completing the offering documents with Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority, and aims to complete the offering before the end of 2020 in order to finance its expansion in the education field.  According to local media reports, CIRA’s offering will be Egypt’s third S...

Malaysia’s listed independent oil and gas exploration and production company, Hibiscus Petroleum, has raised MYR 203.6 million through the issuance of 203.6 million Islamic convertible redeemable preference shares (CRPS) through a private placement exercise, according to local media reports.  The MYR 203.6 million issuance is reported to be the largest CRPS issuance in 2020, and received interest from domestic investors and high net-worth individuals. Proceeds of the issuance will be used by Hibiscus Petroleum towards the acquisition of interests in producing upstre...

The Government of Indonesia has raised IDR 10 trillion from a biweekly auction of State Shariah Securities (SBSN), also known as State Sukuk, according to a statement issued by the Directorate General of Budget Financing and Risk Management (DJPPR), Ministry of Finance. The auction was implemented by Bank Indonesia acting as the SBSN Auction Agent on the 24th of November 2020, and matched the indicative targeted amount of IDR 10 trillion.  According to the DJPPR statement, the total incoming bids received at the close of the State Sukuk...

Despite positive economic growth of 3.0% expected in Indonesia in 2021, the on-going global pandemic could lead to a rise in poverty levels and unemployment as economic activity remains slow, according to Tauhid Ahmad, Executive Director, Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). Tauhid added that the anticipation of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming available only during the second half of 2021 would continue to stem the pace of the economic recovery.  Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed that 2.67 million&nb...

The rising impact of climate-related disasters on a larger number of people will be an accelerant for the Inevitable Policy ResponseFinancial institutions operating within the ASEAN region should consider the  impact of policy options that ASEAN central banks shared in a new Task Force reportThese policy considerations should be integrated into their climate scenario analysis & planning in order to create better outcomes Climate- and weather-related disasters have increased in number over the past half-century and the pace has accelerated over the past 30 years...

Bank Negara Malaysia set a target in its Financial Sector Blueprint 2011-2020 for Islamic financing in the country to reach 40% of the total banking system’s loans/financing by 2020, from a rate of 29% in 2010.  RAM Ratings Co-Head of Financial Institutions’ Ratings, Wong Yin, stated that Malaysia was well on track to achieve this target. Preliminary data released by Bank Negara Malaysia indicated that the penetration rate of Islamic financing in the country, including that of developmental financial institutions, had reached 39.9% as at th...