Oman’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced the launch of the third issuance of its OMR Sovereign Sukuk Program, according to media reports.  The MoF, which has appointed Bank Muscat and its Islamic unit Meethaq Islamic Bank for the Sukuk issuance, is planning on targeting small investors via a mechanism to build a register of subscription orders.  The Sukuk issuance is part of Oman’s plan to tap local and international debt markets to renew reserves that were impacted by plummeting oil prices and the economic downturn caused...

Egypt’s annual rate of core inflation has fallen to its lowest recorded rate in history, reaching 0.7% in July 2020, from 1.0% in June 2020 and 1.5% in May 2020, according to Tarek Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).  Amer affirmed that Egypt would continue to contain inflation, stating that the annual rate of general inflation had fallen in July 2020, propped by the positive impact of the base period. General inflation had recorded one-digit rates since June 2019, and remained below 6.0% since February 2020, and was expected to reach an average of 6....

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, challenged the extent of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s forecasted-contraction for the country’s economy for 2020, asserting that the negative growth was likely to remain much smaller. In its June 2020 forecast, the IMF downgraded its growth estimate for Saudi Arabia’s economy, to a contraction of 6.8% (from a decline of 2.3% estimated previously), citing  the fall in oil prices  and the impacts of COVID-19 as key rea...

Bank Indonesia (BI) announced that the country's retail sales in July 2020 had fallen 12.3% year-on-year (YoY) due to continuing consumer pessimism, as indicators point to a weak economic recovery in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q 2020). However, the contraction was lower than the 17.1% YoY decrease in June 2020, according to BI, with retail sales in August 2020 estimated to contract 10.1% YoY. BI's consumer confidence index (IKK) survey, found that public confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy w...

The impacts of climate change are being felt now, and in the process are having a multifarious impact on the financial systemThe tension in addressing climate-related risks between consumers, insurers and regulators may lead to insurers' exit as risks begin to materializeThe exit of insurers as a result of climatic risk will have a major knock-on impact across the financial system, including for Islamic banks Wildfires in California are highlighting some of the indirect risks that climate change is causing for financial institutions and investors in real estate. Forest fires...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has reaffirmed its ratings of Malaysian real estate investment trust, Axis REIT Sukuk Berhad’s (ARSB) MYR 110 million First Sukuk Issue (2012/2024).  According to IslamicMarkets Sukuk Monitor, ARSB’s MYR 110 million First Sukuk Issue (2012/2024) consists of four tranches namely: Class A which has an issue size of MYR 95 million with a coupon rate of 4.50%; Class B with a value of MYR 5 million with a 4.95% coupon rate; Class C which has an issuance size of MYR 5 million at a coupon rate of 5.30%, a...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed the AAAIS rating of TNB Western Energy’s (TNB Western) Sukuk of up to MYR 4.0 billion, with a Stable Outlook.  In a recent statement, the ratings agency noted that TNB Western’s rating was equalised to the corporate credit rating of its ultimate parent Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), which stands at AAA/stable. According to MARC, any inability to repay scheduled Sukuk obligations as a result of insufficient operating cash flow, is expected to be covered by TNB unde...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has signed a USD 100 million trade financing facility with a Murabahah structure with Mizuho Bank Malaysia, a subsidiary of Japan-based Mizuho Bank, according to media reports.  The Murabahah trade financing facility is ITFC’s inaugural partnership with a Japanese bank, reflecting an expansion of partners globally, and will enable ITFC to extend support towards public and private sectors in Organisation of Islamic Cooperat...

Economists have warned that the Government of Indonesia's fiscal stimulus programs may need to be continued into 2022 and even 2023, if domestic consumption and economic recovery remains weak. Former Minister of Finance, Chatib Basri stated that the Government needs to consider extending its stimulus programs if customer demand is still weak and the private sector does not come into full effect by 2021, adding that focus should be given to programs that provide cash transfers for lower middle-income citizens, citing its efficiency in boo...

The Malaysian economy is showing signs of recovery, as evidenced by early economic indicators for July 2020, according to the country’s Deputy Finance Minister II, Mohd Shahar Abdullah.  Speaking at a session at Dewan Negara recently regarding the Government of Malaysia’s strategy to boost the economy and enhance gross domestic product (GDP) by the fourth quarter of 2020, Mohd Shahar highlighted key economic indicators to back his assertion.  Mohd Shahar stated that exports had increased by 3.1% year-on-year (YoY) in July 2...