According to media reports, Egypt’s House of Representatives is set to revise a proposed framework pertaining to sovereign Sukuk sale. Should the proposed revision be passed, a state-owned special-purpose vehicle that is to be set up under the Sovereign Sukuk Act to manage the sale of government Sukuk may not be subject to oversight from the Financial Supervisory Authority. Why it matters?  Ratification would mean that the law would treat sovereign Sukuk no different to other instruments sold by the Government of Egypt,...

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has signed an agreement with Banque de l’Union - Côte d’Ivoire (the Bank or BDU-CI), to finance private sector enterprises in Côte d’Ivoire. The EUR 8 million line of commodity Murabahah and Wakalah-structured financing agreement was signed by Ayman Amin Sejiny, Chief Executive Officer of ICD and Wélé Diallo, Managing Director of BDU-CI. Why it matters? Sejiny stated that the facility would be used by BDU-Côte...

The long-term outlook for Islamic banking in the South and Southeast Asian region appears very healthy, with the main driving factors being growing populations and the efforts of the different governments to develop the sector, according to Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s). With key Muslim-majority markets such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, the region is regarded as one of the brightest spots for the growth of Islamic banking. According to Moody’s, the demographic of those aged 25 to 54 years is growing r...

Expansion plans of the merger of Saudi-based Shariah-compliant lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Samba Financial Group (Samba), which will create a new rebranded merged bank, Saudi National Bank (SNB), have been revealed by Ammar Al-Khudairy, Board Chairman of SNB. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Saudi Ministry of Finance, Al-Khudairy noted that all SNB branches would be fully Islamic on the retail level, and over 70% of loans incorporate banking would be Shariah compliant, when the rebranded outlets open on the 1st&nbs...

Nigerian-based commercial and residential real estate company, Brains and Hammers Limited, has announced an NGN 8 billion Sukuk investment funding from the private capital market, according to local media reports. The Sukuk was funded by a group of lenders in the private sector, and backed by ARM and Fidelity Bank. Why it matters?  The Sukuk fund will expedite the delivery of the mega 4,500 units Bungalow City project in Abuja, Nigeria, which will aid the housing deficit for low-income earners. The Sukuk investment is indicative of the investors’ confide...

According to a report by the Government of Malaysia, foreign direct investments (FDI) into Malaysia saw a drop of 56% to USD 3.4 billion in 2020 owing to COVID-19-related negative impacts on the country’s trade-reliant economy. However, a January 2021 report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, put the decline in FDI into Malaysia at 68% in 2020, the worst figure in South-east Asia. Why it matters?  Malaysia risks lagging regional peers amid intense competition for FDI. The World Bank said that the country...

The Head of Bank Permata’s Sharia Business Unit, Herwin Bustaman, has stated that Islamic banking and finance institutions in Indonesia could raise their competitiveness via a number of incentives, one of them is taxes. For example, the enactment of Law Number 42 of 2009 with regard to Value-Added Tax has brought the Shariah financing tax in par with conventional taxation.  Why it matters?  There is increasing demand in the industry for more incentives from Islamic banking institutions, especially...

Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) expects the economy to benefit from its transition to a circular economy, with gross domestic product set to increase by between IDR 593 trillion and IDR 638 trillion (USD 41.2-43.3 billion) by 2030. Speaking at a webinar on the circular economy held on the 12th of March 2021, Bappenas' Deputy of Economic Affairs Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti noted that the circular economy will raise Indonesia's GDP growth rate by 0.6% in 2030 should the transition be con...

PT Pegadaian, Indonesia’s state-owned pawning financing and service provider, has announced plans to issue securities worth IDR 4.04 trillion in the near future, local media reported. The securities comprise of Sustainable Sukuk Mudharabah I Phase IV (Sukuk) valued at IDR 765 billion and Continuous Bond IV Pegadaian Phase IV (Bonds) with a principal value of IDR 3.28 trillion. Why it matters?  The Sukuk is part of Pegadaian’s Sustainable Sukuk Mudharabah I with a total value of IDR 2.2 trillion...

Islamic Finance for Sustainable Micro-Finance Development in IndonesiaFiqh, Islam, Islamic banking, Murabaha