The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has approved USD 5 million in Murabahah Financing to Bank of Maldives to support the Bank’s private sector businesses, according to a recent statement.  Bank of Maldives is the first institution in the Maldives to work with the ITFC to expand financial outreach to the private sector through local banks in the country. In particular, the financing will support the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that are invo...

The Government of Pakistan will be setting up Medium-Term Note (MTN) programmes to float USD-denominated International Sukuk and Eurobonds for an initial tenure of one year in order to attract foreign exchange reserves, according to local media reports.  On the 23rd of September 2020, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) invited applications from financial institutions to submit proposals to act as financial advisors for the registration, structuring, launch and execution of the MTN programmes, with all interested financial institutions requ...

Indonesia’s Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, stated that the Finance Ministry has revised down the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) forecast in September 2020, to a range of –1.7% to -0.6%, from a previous estimated range of -1.1% to 0.2%. In the statement made on the 22nd of September 2020, Indrawati noted that the Ministry would take every effort to improve the situation in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q 2020), forecasting the GDP to come in at closer to zero percent or positive.  Government consumption is anticip...

In its quarterly review on the 24th of September 2020, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that its economic growth forecast for 2020 now stands at -5.2%, lower than its previous estimate, which was a decline of 3.6%.  The first half of 2020 has seen the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) decline 0.8% in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q 2020), whilst the second quarter of 2020 saw an estimated contraction of 7.8%. According to the Central Bank, the UAE has been strongly impacted by the general ban on travel, as well as a decline in manuf...

Bank Syariah Mandiri (Mandiri Syariah) and Mandiri Utama Finance (MUF) have signed a joint financing agreement to form a collaboration between both the Bank Mandiri subsidiaries. The agreement is concerned with the distribution of financing, optimisation of the customer base, as well as the expansion of MUF’s marketing network.  Ade Cahyo Nugroho, Mandiri Syariah’s Director of Finance, Strategy and Treasury, stated in a press release that the collaboration would allow the companies to further penetrate the Isl...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has reaffirmed the ratings of Zamarad Assets’ (Zamarad) Tranche 2 and 3 Sukuk Murabahah, which are the second and third issuances respectively under Zamarad’s MYR 2 billion Sukuk Murabahah Programme. RAM reaffirmed the ratings of Zamarad’s Tranche 2 MYR  80 million Class A Sukuk as AAA/Stable and MYR 20 million Class B Sukuk as AA2/Stable. Meanwhile, the AAA/Stable and AA2/Stable ratings of Zamarad’s respective Tranche 3 MYR 100 million Class A Sukuk and MYR 20 million Class B Sukuk were also reaffirmed...

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) has successfully closed the issuance of its USD 500 million five-year Sukuk, with an order book of USD 1.2 billion, which is approximately 2.4 times the issuance size, according to media reports.  The Sukuk closed with a profit rate of 1.827%, which is the lowest achieved by a United Arab Emirates bank in the past decade, and drew in a diverse investor base, with 41% allocated to the Middle East and North Africa, 28% to Asia, 17% to US offshore investors and 14% to Europe, media reported.  Salah Amin, C...

Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has successfully issued two series of short-term A-1 rated Sukuk worth USD 510 million, according to a statement released by IILM on the 22nd of September 2020.  The two new Sukuk issuances of USD 210 million and USD 300 million with six-week and six-month tenures, were priced at 0.24% and 0.47% respectively, with the six-week tenure being a new introduction to the market. The orderbook of both issuances closed in exc...

Malaysia has taken the lead on promoting climate-risk readiness among financial institutionsOther OIC countries with Islamic finance sectors have also seen development of green sukuk and frameworks for sustainable financeAmidst the disruption created by the coronavirus pandemic, there is a renewed push to acknowledge and address climate-related financial risks facing the financial sector, including within Islamic finance Bank Negara Malaysia Assistant Governor Fraziali Ismail announced at a Malaysia Showcase during NYC Climate Week 2020 that approximately 11.7% of Malay...

Oman’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced the completion of the third issuance of its OMR Sovereign Sukuk Programme, by issuing OMR 200 million (USD 520 million) worth of sovereign Sukuk, according to a prospectus published recently by the Muscat Securities Market. The latest issuance, which is due to mature in 2026, has an annual profit rate of 5.25% to be paid twice annually in March and September of each year, according to the prospectus.  The 2 million Sukuk were offered at a nominal value of OMR 100 per Sukuk during the book building period which to...