Saudi Arabia’s decision to triple its value added tax (VAT) to 15% effective July 2020, in efforts to off-set the impact of lower oil revenues, has resulted in an increase in inflation. Inflation in Saudi Arabia increased to 6.1% in July 2020, from 0.5% in June 2020, and has hovered around the 6.0% mark since July 2020.  Whilst the country’s budget deficit in the third quarter of 2020 saw a drastic improvement, (reaching USD 11 billion, more than half the deficit in the second quarter of 2020) in part due to the tax increase, the...

The development of sharia capital markets and its role in financing the government projectsIslam, Islamic banking, Sukuk

Indonesia’s foreign debt, including Government and private-sector borrowings rose 3.8% year-on-year (YoY) to reach USD 408.5 billion at the end of the third quarter 2020 (3Q 2020), according to data from Bank Indonesia (BI). The rise in foreign debt was mainly attributed to the Government of Indonesia’s borrowings and issuances of samurai bonds in July 2020 to fund the COVID-19 relief efforts and economic stimulus packages, which are crucial for Indonesia’s recovery. According to BI, the Government...

Bank lending procyclicality: A comparative study of conventional and Islamic banksIslamic banking, Mudaraba, Credit Risk

Family Takaful and Life Insurance Malaysian Landscape: Demand EscalationGharar, Islam, Riba, Shariah, Takaful, Waqf, Provision

Evaluation and Comparison of Financial Soundness of Islamic and Conventional Private Commercial Banks in Bangladesh: A CAMEL ApproachIslam, Islamic banking, Participation

The Role of Factorial Analysis to Show the Effect of Sovereign Islamic Sukuk in the Infrastructure A Malaysian ExperimentSukuk, Participation, Reserves

Introducing Financial Inclusion to MENA Islamic-Banks Profitability DeterminantsIslamic banking, Murabahah, Musharakah, PLS, Shariah, Credit Risk, Provision

Indonesian state-owned construction company, Wijaya Karya (WIKA), has announced plans to issue securities worth IDR 2 trillion, comprising of Sukuk amounting to a maximum of IDR 500 billion and sustainable bonds of up to IDR 1.5 trillion, according to local media reports.  The IDR 500 billion Sukuk issuance is part of the Public Offering (PUB) Sukuk Mudharabah Wijaya Karya 1 with a target fund of IDR 1 trillion. Proceeds of the Sukuk will be used to finance working capital infrastructure and building projects in line with Shariah principles, accor...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed the AAAIS rating on TTM Sukuk Berhad’s (TTM SPV) MYR 600 million Sukuk Murabahah, with a Stable Outlook. TTM SPV is wholly owned by Trans Thai-Malaysia (Thailand) Ltd (TTMT), which is a 50:50 joint-venture between the national oil companies of Malaysia (Petroliam Nasional, PETRONAS) and Thailand (PTT Public Company, PTT). TTM SPV is the funding vehicle for the second phase of the Trans Thailand-Malaysia project (TTM Phase II), which consists of two gas pipelines between Malaysia and Thailand.  MARC’s rating of t...