Almalia has launched the world’s first actively managed global equity Shariah-compliant Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), listing it on the London Stock Exchange on the 30th of September 2020. The ETF will have its asset management and investment screening supervised by Sanlam Investments, based in the United Kingdom, to ensure that the fund remains Shariah-compliant.  Pieter Fourie, Global Head of Equities at Sanlam stated that the actively managed ETF would provide an opportunity to outperform the MSCI Islamic Global Equity Index, challenging the status quo in the ETF market...

Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician at the Department of Statistics Malaysia, stated that Malaysia is on the road to recovery, evidenced by favourable macro-economic indicators in July 2020, following the reactivation of economic activities, together with the stimulus packages introduced by the Government of Malaysia.  According to Mahidin, this outlook was based on an increase in the total labour force in Malaysia to 15.82 million in July 2020, compared to 15.76 million recorded the previous month, wi...

Bank Central Asia (BCA) has officially closed the deal on the acquisition of Bank Interim Indonesia, formerly known as Bank Rabobank International Indonesia (Rabobank Indonesia), from Dutch lender Coöperatieve Rabobank UA for IDR 644 billion (USD 44 million). According to local media reports, the acquisition, which was completed on the 25th of September 2020, will pave the way for BCA to expand its operations in the Islamic banking business.  Finance Director of BCA, Vera Eve Lim, stated that BCA had secured approval for capital injection and the acquisitio...

The Government of Indonesia has raised IDR 6.4 trillion from a biweekly auction of State Shariah Securities (SBSN), also known as State Sukuk, to fulfil part of its financing target in the 2020 State Budget. The auction, which was conducted on the 29th of September 2020, raised a lower amount than the indicative target of IDR 10.0 trillion.  According to a statement released by the Directorate General of Budget Financing and Risk Management, Ministry of Finance, the total incoming bids received from the State Sukuk auction were IDR 19.86 trillion, which was...

Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s), in a recent report, stated that Islamic financing in Saudi Arabia is anticipated to reach 80% of system-wide loans over the next one-and-a-half years, from 78% in 2019, and 70% in 2013.  The growth is expected to come about as corporates, as well as households, increasingly turn towards the use of Islamic products, despite the challenges imposed by the on-going pandemic and low oil prices.   This will boost Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest Islamic finance market in the world,...

Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI), a state-owned sugar producer, has successfully paid off debts of its Sukuk Ijarah and Medium Term Notes (MTN) Phase I and II with a total value of IDR 665 billion, according to local media reports, citing an official statement.  RNI Finance Director, Pramusti Indrascaryo stated that the final repayment was marked by a Sukuk settlement of IDR 200 billion, which was completed on the 2nd of August 2020. According to IslamicMarkets Sukuk Monitor, the IDR 200 billion Sukuk Ijarah was issued on the 2nd of Au...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has assigned preliminary ratings of AAIS/AA with a Stable Outlook to the proposed MYR 2.0 billion Sukuk Murabahah/Multi-Currency Medium-Term Notes Programme (Sukuk/MCMTN) of OSK Holdings’ (OSK) special purpose vehicle OSK Rated Bond (OSKRB). The ratings apply to MYR-denominated Sukuk/notes issued under the Sukuk/MCMTN Programme.  OSK is a Malaysian investment holding company with subsidiaries engaged in property development and capital financing. In addition, OSK has a 10.13% stake in RHB Bank. OSKRB...

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s overall economic growth declined 8.9% year-over-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), according to Bahrain News Agency, citing a quarterly economic report by the country’s Ministry of Finance and National Economy.  The 8.9% YoY decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2Q 2020 at constant prices was attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to the economic report, the oil and gas sector reported 3.2% YoY growth in constant GDP, whilst the non-oil sector GDP registered a 11.5% YoY decline in constant prices.&n...

Speaking at an online discussion, Indonesia’s Deputy Finance Minister, Suahasil Nazara, explained how stimulus spending by the Government of Indonesia in its state budgets (APBN) and regional budgets (APBD), had become the supporting pillar for the Indonesian economy, amidst COVID-19.  Nazara highlighted that due to this dependency, the Government was not in a position to lower spending in order to maintain sound budget conditions, despite a decline in revenues to the state due to the impact of COVID-19.  Sinc...

Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed an increase in Turkey’s economic confidence in September 2020, with the index reaching 88.5 from 85.9 in August 2020, up 3.1% month-on-month (MoM).  The MoM increase in September 2020 was fueled by improvements in consumer confidence, services and real sector indices. Consumer confidence and services sub-indices grew 3.2% and 6.4% MoM, respectively, whilst the real sector confidence index increased only slightly in comparison, by 0.5% over the same period.  Economic activity in...