ENBD REIT, a Shariah-compliant Dubai real estate investment trust under Emirates NDB Asset Management (ENDBAM), has executed a profit swap with Mashreq Bank on its AED 400 million facility. The Shariah-compliant transfer will hedge 56% of ENDB REIT’s total outstanding debt and fix the variable Emirates Interbank Offered Rate (EIBOR) from June 2021 to June 2023.  The move comes as part of ENDB REIT’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and soft real estate market by maintaining costs at minimal level...

Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (PEFINDO), Indonesia’s rating agency, has assigned an ‘idA (sy)’ rating for Global Mediacom Group’s (Global Mediacom) proposed Sustainable Sukuk Ijarah II Year 2020 (Sukuk) issuance worth up to IDR 600 billion, and an ‘idA’ rating for the issuance of Sustainable Bonds II Year 2020 (Sustainable Bonds), with a maximum value of IDR 1.4 trillion, according to a statement released recently. Proceeds of the securities of the Sukuk and Sustainable Bonds, amounting to IDR 2.0 trillion, wi...

Maybank Asset Management (Maybank AM), Malayan Banking (Maybank)’s fund management arm based in Malaysia, recently launched Maybank Global Sustainable Equity-I Fund (MGSEIF), a global Shariah-compliant equity fund that adopts environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to boost long-term returns.   According to a statement released to local media, MGSEIF will cater to a diverse portfolio that follows Shariah principles and sustainable investing principles, with a minimum investment of 80% in Shariah-compliant equities and Shariah-compliant related securities, as w...

Sarawak Oil Palms (SOP), a Malaysian-based plantation company located in Miri, has proposed to issue unrated Islamic medium term notes (Sukuk Murabahah) of up to MYR 1 billion through its wholly-owned special purpose funding vehicle, SOP Capital, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing released recently.  The Sukuk Murabahah will have a tenure of up to 20 years from the date of first issue, and will be under the purview of OCBC Al-Amin Bank, who is the principal adviser, lead arranger, lead manager and Shariah adviser on behalf of SOP Capital. Proceeds of the issuance will...

According to media reports, the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevine Gamea, recently met with officials of the country’s exportation councils to draw up a Roadmap for Egypt to expand its exports up to USD 100 billion a year, within the next three years.  Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, recently stated that the country hoped to increase its annual exports by making full use of the industrial sector’s capabilities. To achieve the cumulative target of USD 100 billion, the Roadmap lays out plans to incre...

Using the Qatar Free Zone (QFZ) as an example, Ahmad al-Sayed, Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority, highlighted the need for global supply chain experts to re-think and re-design the world’s global supply chains to ensure that they are strong enough to counter economic shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the QFZ proving to have sound systems in place throughout the pandemic, al-Sayed stressed the need to constantly strive for improvement. Speaking at the “Digital Roundtable” discussion organised by The Business Year, al-Sayed&...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has approved USD 10 million in Murabahah Financing to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to assist with the purchase of medicine and equipment to help the African nation combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement released recently.  The Murabaha financing, which was requested by the Government of Mauritania, comes under ITFC’s assistance to the country under its COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative, which provides emergency financing measures to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) membe...

Economists have announced that Malaysia’s worst-ever second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) contraction was a consequence of its COVID-19 lockdown being put in place ahead of its rivals in the region. The Movement Control Order (MCO) executed by the Government of Malaysia to stem the spread of the pandemic, went into effect from the 18th of March 2020, far earlier than in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, and spanned nearly three months. Economist Dr Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak stated that the Malaysian eco...

Initial evidence during the Covid lockdown showed ESG funds outperforming unscreened funds Subsequent empirical studies have shown ESG has been associated with better performance throughout the pandemic Some results may conflate different objectives by including both material and immaterial ESG, and other metrics suggest that companies with similar characteristics to those with high ESG scores did outperform Equity markets fell rapidly during the initial weeks and months of the Covid-19 outbreak. The economic shock hit companies and countries differently depending on the sev...

Noor Takaful, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dar Al Takaful in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has entered into a partnership with Ajman Bank, according to local media reports.  The partnership is expected to extend the overall accessibility of takaful life, savings and investments across Ajman Bank's customer segments such as wealth management, small and medium-sized enterprises and retail. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ajman Bank, Mohamed Amiri stated that the agreement ties in Noor Takaful's expertise...