Bahrain has begun marketing its second bond offering of 2020, in the form of a USD-denominated dual-tranche issuance, made up of a seven-year Sukuk, and a 12-year conventional tranche, according to a media reports, based on a document released from one of the banks arranging the deal.  The initial price guidance of the Sukuk is expected to yield around 4.5%, while the conventional bonds are anticipated to be around 5.75%, the document showed, with each tranche expected to be of benchmark size (at least USD 500 million). Industry sources expect the total issuance to be around U...

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain recently announced that modern technology would be introduced to promote the country's Halal food industry. Speaking at a seminar on "Halal Accreditation: A Gateway to International Trade” organised by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Hussain asserted that the time had come for the Halal food industry to adopt digitisation and biotechnology. Hussain added that in...

The global Halal economy is projected to reach a value of USD 3.2 trillion by 2024, according to the recently released second edition of the Halal Guidebook developed by the Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA), a business hub located in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The  Halal Guidebook titled "Dubai – A Global Gateway for Halal Industry: A Step-by-Step Guide", discusses key trends of the regional Halal economy, maps growth opportunities and trade flow of Halal markets as well as Halal certification and compliance processes and provides an overview of the UAE's a...

Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has downgraded the insurance financial strength (IFS) rating of Boubyan Takaful Insurance (Boubyan Takaful) to Baa3 from Baa2, according to a recent statement. In addition, Moody’s has revised Boubyan Takaful’s outlook to Stable from rating under review.  The downgrade of the IFS rating reflects the worsening performance of the company’s financial profile since 2018, and Moody’s expectations that Boubyan Takaful’s capitalisation metrics will rema...

PT Pegadaian, Indonesia’s state-owned pawning financing and service provider, will issue securities worth IDR 3.25 trillion over a public offering period between the 16th and 17th of September 2020, local media reported. The securities comprise of Sustainable Sukuk Mudharabah I Pegadaian Phase III Year 2020 (Sukuk) valued at IDR 835 billion and Sustainable Bonds IV Pegadaian Phase III Year 2020 (Bond) with a principal value of IDR 2.42 trillion.  The Sukuk is part of the Sustainable Sukuk Mudharab...

Malaysia’s International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) announced the successful completion of an auction for the issuance of A1-rated short-term Sukuk worth USD 900 million. According to IILM, the Sukuk was oversubscribed by 1.77 times, with an order book that came in at over USD 1.59 billion. The Sukuk was issued in two series: a USD 400 million issuance with a one-month tenure and a profit rate of 0.22%, and a USD 500 million issuances of three-month tenure...

The Federal Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a budget surplus of AED 9.75 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), according to media reports. By the end of 2Q 2020, Government revenue stood at over AED 34.7 billion, while Government expenditure was around AED 25 billion, revealed a Financial Performance Report from UAE’s Ministry of Finance. It also reported that a surplus of AED 7.95 billion was generated in 2Q 2020, following an AED 1.8 billion surplus in the previous quarter. Of the AED 19.45 billion revenue accrued...

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has announced several new policy measures to bolster the capacity of banks and financial institutions to support affected borrowers following the COVID-19 crisis. This is the second stimulus package for economic revival to be announced by Oman since March 2020, according to local media reports, and will come into force with immediate effect. The stimulus measures, announced in a recent circular issued by Executive President of CBO, Tahir bin Salim al Amri, grant a further extension on the Loan Deferment Scheme up until the 31st of March...

Algeria will be launching Islamic insurance facilities, also known as Takaful, for the first time according to Finance Minister, Ayman Benabderrahmane, as the Government of Algeria looks to enhance the country’s Islamic finance industry.  According to media reports, Benabderrahmane announced that state companies would be implementing Takaful services from mid-September 2020.  The announcement comes on the back of a move in August 2020 to launch Islamic finance products in state-owned banks, as the Government is looking for new funding...

The International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), an independent network of non-governmental accreditation bodies with headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recently organized a webinar on "The Future Perspectives of The Halal Industry" to initialize international discussion on the challenges to Halal accreditation created by the global COVID-19 pandemic, news media reported. The topics raised by the panel of international experts drew focus to the restrictions placed on traditional on-site assessment models by the pandemic, resulting in Halal accreditation bodies (AB) and conf...