RAM Ratings (RAM) has assigned the MYR 650 million Sukuk Wakalah Programme (2020/2050) proposed by Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Negeri Pahang’s (PKPP) a preliminary rating of AA3(s), with a Stable Outlook.  PKPP is an oil palm plantation agency, with around 42,000 hectares (ha) of planted area, tasked with ensuring the developing of the agricultural sector in Pahang, Malaysia. RAM’s preliminary ratings are based on PKPP’s strong capitalisation, liquidity and leverage, coupled with its State-sup...

The unemployment rate in Egypt has increased to 9.6% in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), from 7.5% seen in the same quarter last year, according to a recent statement released by Egypt’s official statistics agency, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The rate stood at 7.7% in the first quarter of 2020.  CAPMAS attributed the increase in unemployment to the lockdown measures imposed to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, including the suspension of schools, curfews at night and the temporary halt of international flights and...

Saudi Arabia's consumer price index leapt by 6.1% in July 2020 from just 0.5% in June 2020, in a recent statement released by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GaSTAT).  The 0.5% annual inflation rate in June 2020 was the smallest increase since January 2020, until the Kingdom increased its value added tax (VAT) from 5% to 15% on the 1st of July, 2020. GaSTAT reported that the jump was reflective of general price increases compared to last year, most notably of the food and beverage sector by 14.6% year-on-year (YoY) and transport secto...

Bahrain’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been downgraded to B+ from BB- by Fitch Ratings (Fitch), with a Stable Outlook.  The downgrade is based on significant rises in Bahrain’s budget deficit and government debt, a steep decline in gross domestic product (GDP) and further constraints on low foreign exchange reserves, as a result of lower oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Fitch, the extent of the shock has negatively impacted Bahrain’s credit profile and brought about heightened risk to medium-term...

Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry recently stated that the development of Halal industrial areas in the country would be fast-tracked, given its widespread ability to attract investment and employees, which will boost the national economy.  Dody Widodo, Director General of Resilience, Territory and International Industrial Access of the Ministry of Industry, noted that a key strategy of the Indonesian Sharia Economics Master Plan 2019-2024 was to reinforce the Halal industry value chain from upstream to downstream, by focusing on building Halal industrial areas and H...

Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has emphasised the country's pressing need to tap into the huge growth potential of the global Halal market via restructuring of empowerment strategies. MITI's Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali spoke on the potential of the country's Halal market at the Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2020 committee meeting, stating that the Halal Development Corporation has been transferred to the purview of the MITI in order to broaden its focus from Halal certification to the growth of...

A Bourse filing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced the listing and commencement of trading of the UAE’s first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) tracking a Shariah-compliant index, on the 17th of August, 2020.  The Chimera S&P UAE ETF (the ETF), listed by Chimera Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm, involves two share classes, tracking a Shariah-compliant index based on stocks listed on the ADX and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), respectively. Class-A shares are listed on t...

Malaysia's first ever digital Sukuk issuance, Sukuk Prihatin, was launched on the 18th of August 2020, as part of the Government of Malaysia’s National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana). The Sukuk, which has a total target issuance of MYR 500 million with a two-year maturity period, is based on the principle of Tawarruq via the Commodity Murabahah arrangement, according to the Ministry of Finance.  The Sukuk Prihatin, which will be distributed from the 18th of August to the 17th of September, 2020 on a first-come first-served basis, has a yearly p...

Based on official information from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), Aneka Gas Industri (Aneka Gas) will issue securities worth IDR 17 billion on the 18th of August, 2020. The securities comprise of Sustainable Sukuk Ijarah II Aneka Gas Phase I 2020 (Sukuk Ijarah) worth IDR 5 billion and Sustainable Bonds II Aneka Gas Phase I 2020 (Sustainable Bonds) valued at IDR 12 billion.  The Sukuk Ijarah, which will have a five-year tenure, will have a value of IDR 5 billion with repayments of IDR 527.5 million per year, or IDR 105.5 billion for every multiple of ID...

Kuwait announced a total deficit of USD 18.44 billion for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, with the Finance Minister stating that total revenue had fallen 16% year-on-year (YoY) to KWD 17.22 billion (USD 56.3 billion) in the same fiscal period. According to media reports, Kuwait’s economy is reeling under the double blow of the pandemic and falling oil prices. The World Bank stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst crisis faced by Kuwait's economy since the Iraqi invasion in 1990, exacerbated by the global oil price slum...