ASEAN Taxonomy version released outlining how it would connect and provide a common language for different ASEAN member country taxonomiesThe ASEAN Taxonomy provides substantially greater flexibility than other taxonomies like the one adopted for the European Union, but how national taxonomies use it remains to be seenASEAN Taxonomy outlines the critical role for finance, but it's unclear how the taxonomy would apply to companies operating across multiple countries to limit opportunities for regulatory arbitrage The ASEAN Taxonomy Board has released the first proposed versio...

On the 11th of November 2021, Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group (GFH) announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2021 (3Q 2021), reporting a 187.3% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its net profit attributable to shareholders, from USD 8.11 million in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q 2020).  Why it Matters?  The growth in net profit was attributed to strong performance across GFH’s diversified business lines, despite the impact of the pandemic, supported by steady, recurring income strea...

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said in a statement that the country’s government had offered SAR-denominated Sukuk amounting to SAR 614.2 million (USD 164 million) for its November issuance. Why it Matters?  For the previous 10 months, the KSA collected a total of SAR 74.2 billion (USD 19.8 billion) in Sukuk issuances. With the latest offer, the country has secured a total value of SAR 74.8 billion (USD 19.9 billion) of financing from Sukuk...

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has completed the auction for its short-term Sukuk reissuance amounting to USD 1.31 billion, according to a statement released on the 15th of November 2021. The Sukuk, which marks IILM’s 11th issuance of 2021, comprised of USD 400 million for one-month tenure priced at 0.18%, USD 560 million for three-month tenure at 0.26% and USD 350 million for six-month tenure at 0.36%. Why it Matters?  The Sukuk reissuance...

According to CIMB Investment Bank, Malaysia sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional's (Khazanah) special purpose vehicle (SPV) Danum Capital (Danum) has proposed to increase the size of its MYR 10 billion (USD 2.4 billion) Sukuk issuance known as the Sukuk Danum Programme to MYR 20 billion (USD 4.8 billion). CIMB Investment Bank is the facilitator of the issuance. Why it Matters? To cover its USD finance needs, Khazanah has continued to issue exchangeable Sukuk and bonds,...

Oman-based Bank Nizwa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) at the 15th IFSB Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of its objective to raise community awareness and interest in Islamic banking practices. Why it Matters?  This collaboration is part of Bank Nizwa's strategic initiatives to deepen its ties with the world's leading Islamic financial institutions, including the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and the General...

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has issued the Exposure Draft of Technical Note-4 (ED TN-4) on Recovery and Resolution for Institutions Offering Islamic Financial Services (IIFS), according to a statement issued on the 15th of November 2021.  Why it Matters?  The ED TN-4 intends to add to the existing Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Key Attributes (KAs) by providing complementary standards and information on the features of Islamic finance and Shariah compliance requirements r...

The Zakat Collection Centre of the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (PPZ-MAIWP) in Malaysia intends to raise MYR 800 million (USD 192 million) from 480,000 Zakat payers by the end of 2021 to support underprivileged Asnaf families. Why it Matters?  Abdul Hakim Amir Osman, Acting Chief Executive Officer of PPZ-MAIWP, remarked that this is because of the increase of Zakat recipients to 27,000 families in 2021 from about 20,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic affected Malaysia. Details ...

Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) reported a net profit of BHD 2.8 million (USD 7.4 million) for the third quarter of 2021 (3Q 2021), an increase of 37.0% over the net profit for the same period last year (3Q 2020). Why it Matters? The growth in net profit has mainly been due to the increase in the total income of the bank before return to investment account holders which, amounted to BHD 12.7 million (USD 33.8 million) in 3Q 2021 in comparison to BHD 11.5 million (USD 30.6 million) in 3Q 2020. Jassim Alseddiqi, Chairman of KHCB said th...

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Emirates Islamic has announced the issuance of a USD 500 million five-year Sukuk under its USD 2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme on the 14th of November 2021.  Why it Matters?  The landmark Sukuk issuance received strong demand from global investors, resulting in an order book coming in at USD 1.2 billion, which was 2.4 times the issuance size. The robust demand allowed Emirates Islamic to tighten the spread on the Sukuk by 25 basis points from initi...