Bedford Row Capital (BRC), a UK-based corporate finance structuring specialist, has recently launched a USD 50 million Sukuk to raise funds on behalf of P1 Capital (P1), a UK asset-management group that focuses on asset-backed investments in the UK property sector, according to a statement released to media. The Sukuk, which is the first for the UK property market, has a fixed three-year tenure that is set to mature in September 2023, with a 7% coupon rate to be paid quarterly. The Sukuk, which is managed by BRC, was issued by Al Waseelah, a specialist UK-based Sukuk issu...

Indonesian state-owned construction company, Wijaya Karya (WIKA), has announced plans to issue a public offering of Sukuk and sustainable bonds amounting to IDR 5 trillion, according to local media reports.  The offering of Sukuk and sustainable bonds will commence in stages from the fourth quarter of 2020, and is part of WIKA’s strategy to strengthen its cash structure to repay an existing Komodo (global IDR) bond totalling IDR 5.4 trillion, that is set to mature in January 2021. Further details of the amount of the issu...

Malaysian energy company Petronas Gas’ (PetGas) 65% owned subsidiary, Pengerang LNG (Two) Sdn Bhd (PLNG2) is planning to issue a Sukuk Murabahah Programme (Sukuk) valued at MYR 3.0 billion to allow for better financial flexibility, according to local media reports.  The Sukuk, which was lodged with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SCM) on the 17th of September 2020, has received approval from the Shariah Advisory Council of the SCM, and will have a tenure of 30 years from the first issue date, local media reported.&nbs...

Indonesia has the potential to develop its Shariah economy and become a global hub of the Islamic economy, according to Wimboh Santosa, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK).  Speaking at an online discussion on the 17th of September 2020, Santosa highlighted several indicators of Indonesia’s potential in the Shariah economy, citing the Global Islamic Financial Report, which stated that the country ranked first in the global Shariah financial market in 2019 with a score of 81.93.  Furthermore,&nbs...

In a statement issued on the Dubai Financial Market on the 14th of September 2020, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) and Ithmaar Holdings confirmed their plans for the potential acquisition of Ithmaar Bank’s Bahrain-based operations, along with specific assets of IB Capital, a subsidiary of Ithmaar Holding.  The plans, which are still in the discussion phase, are subject to due diligence by both BBK and Ithmaar Bank, as well as to regulatory and shareholder approvals. This statement followed the announcement of a po...

Bank Islam Malaysia (BIM) announced that 10,000 applications have been received from the retail segment between August and the 14th of September 2020, requesting an extension of the moratorium period, which is set to expire on the 30th of September 2020. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at BIM, Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, urged all of BIM’s customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to get in touch with BIM immediately to make necessary arrangements. According to Mohamed, the current application process, which takes four working days, could get delayed i...

The Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait has recently stated that the Government of Egypt was eager to stabilise its tax policies in order to boost new investments and provide employment opportunities, according to local media reports.  Heralding Egypt’s tax administration system, Maait noted that historical reforms had laid the foundation for tax justice, integrated the informal economy into the formal economy, broadened the tax base and provided a more precise outlook of the country’s tax community.  Maai...

Saudi Arabia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 6.2% year-on-year (YoY) in August 2020, compared to the same month in the previous year (August 2019) according to a statement released by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), Saudi Arabia’s official statistics agency.  This was the second consecutive increase in the CPI after a tripling of value-added tax to 15% from 5% came into effect on the 1st of July 2020, which had an overall impact on consumer prices in the Kingdom, with the annual inflation rate reaching 6.1% in...

The Government of Indonesia has raised IDR 9.5 trillion from a biweekly auction of State Shariah Securities (SBSN), also known as State Sukuk. The auction, which was conducted on the 15th of September 2020, raised a higher amount than the initial target of IDR 8.0 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 was IDR 20.79 trillion, which was lower than that received from the previous aucti...

Following the progressive re-opening of Malaysia’s economy since May 2020, Malaysia’s unemployment rate declined to 4.7% in July 2020, as reported by Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.  Mustapa stated that the stimulus packages and the re-opening of the economy has stimulated labour markets and economic activity in Malaysia, with nearly all sectors back in operation.  According to Mustapa, this is a marked improvement from the record high unemployment rate of 5.3% reported in May 2020, resulting from the e...