RAM Ratings (RAM) has assigned a final rating of AA3 to the MYR 260 million ASEAN Green SRI Sukuk (2020/2038) of Solar Management (Seremban) Sdn Bhd (SMS), with a Stable Outlook.  RAM had previously assigned a preliminary rating of AA3 to SMS which has now been finalised upon reviewing all relevant transaction documents and applied assumptions.  According to RAM, SMS has been contracted to design, construct, operate and maintain a 50 MWac solar photovoltaic plant in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan under a 21-year Power Purchase...

The Hub Power Company (Hubco), Pakistan’s Independent Power Producer, has announced that it is finalising the issuance of an Islamic Shariah-compliant Sukuk amounting to PKR 6 billion, according to local media reports. The five-year tenure Sukuk, which will be issued through Hubco’s wholly-owned subsidiary Hub Power Holdings Limited, will be made available for subscription by financial institutions, investment companies and other eligible institutions.  Proceeds of the proposed Sukuk will be used to meet ongoing capital requirements of...

Saudi Arabian Islamic lender, Arab National Bank (ANB), has announced plans to issue USD-denominated Tier 2 capital Sukuk to eligible investors in Saudi Arabia and internationally, according to a bourse statement released on the 19th of October 2020.  ANB’s board approved the Sukuk issuance and offering on the 22nd of September 2020, with the amount and terms of offer subject to market conditions. According to the bourse statement, proceeds of the Sukuk will support the lender’s capital base and fulfil its financial and strategic needs.&nbs...

Oman’s 5% value-added tax (VAT) law has officially been gazetted on the 18th of October 2020, and will come into effect on the 16th of April 2021, which is 180 days after the official publication, according to KPMG.  Oman’s VAT law enables the tax authority to issue VAT regulations up to six months after the effective date, which is the 13th of October 2021, KPMG noted. This is in contrast to other Gulf Corporation Countries member states that have already introduced VAT, including Saudi Arabia, the U...

Algeria’s National Youth Employment Support Agency (Ansej), a public body that is responsible for managing a credit fund for the creation of businesses, has recently announced that it will be implementing Shariah-compliant financial products in cooperation with the Banque Nationale d’Algérie (BNA), according to media reports.  The financial products, which will be launched on the 1st of November 2020, will be based on the principles of Islamic law. According to media reports, the proposed Islamic financial pr...

Foundation Securities, a subsidiary of the Fauji Foundation Group and local affiliate of Macquarie Capital, has launched Pakistan’s first Shariah-compliant trading investment platform, named Shariah Edge, according to local media reports.  The platform will help tap into the market that was unwilling to engage in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) due to the lack of pure Shariah-compliant trading facilities, media reported.  According to Syed Ahmed Zaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Foundation Securities, the platform will enable Shariah-conscious investors to invest as per I...

ZamZam Bank has officially received a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the country’s banking regulator, to carry out Islamic banking activities in Ethiopia. The granting of the license on the 12th of October 2020 deems ZamZam Bank as the first officially recogniszed institution in the country to specifically offer financial services and products that comply with Islamic law, according to media reports.   Earlier in May 2019, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, approved the establishment of financial institutions s...

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) has lowered Oman’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to B+ from BB-, according to a statement issued on the 16th of October 2020. It has also affirmed Oman’s short-term ratings at B, with a Stable Outlook. Oman’s B+ sovereign rating, which was cut for the second time in 2020 by S&P, was attributed to restrained oil price growth and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s public sector finances. The Stable Outlook reflects S&P’s view that the...

Malaysia recorded an unemployment rate of 4.7% month-on-month (MoM) in August 2020, with the number of those unemployed showing a marginal decline by 3,500 persons to 741,600, as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in its latest labour force statistics report.  Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician at the DOSM, stated that that the continued rise in employment was reflective of more economic activities resuming from July 2020 in sectors such as tourism, education, entertainment, recreational faci...

Speaking at an economic forum hosted by the Chinese Enterprise Association of Brunei, Haji Mohd Amin Liew, Brunei's Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy, stated that Brunei is taking additional efforts to attract foreign investments, in order to diversify its economic exposure. Liew noted that as an oil-producing country, Brunei is exposed to global oil price fluctuations and has hence been looking at ways to diversify its economy. Over the years, Brunei has turned to China for...