Oman’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been downgraded to BB- from BB by Fitch Ratings (Fitch), with a Negative Outlook. The downgrade and Negative Outlook is based on the on-going weakening of Oman’s fiscal and balance sheets, hastened by lower oil prices and the negative impact of the COVID-19, despite an improved underlying fiscal consolidation.  Fitch forecasts Oman’s budget shortfall to be nearly 20% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, compared with around 8% of GDP in 2019. Government debt is expected to incre...

Asia Pacific Investment Bank (APIB), an offshore Islamic bank based in Malaysia, stated it has plans to develop Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry, working together with domestic financial institutions.  APIB’s Chief Executive Officer, Chris Wang, expressed confidence in APIB’s ability to support the bilateral integration of Malaysia and the rest of the Islamic world with investors and projects from China. Wang noted that the trade war between the United States of America and China (US-China), together with COVID-19, has led to a challeng...

Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) has announced the postponement of crude oil securities that were to be offered via Salaf bonds on the 16th of August 2020. A standard parallel Salaf is a Shariah-compliant contract similar to futures, the difference being that Salaf contracts’ total price must be paid in advance, according to media reports. Elaborating on the details of the offer, IRENEX Managing Director, Seyed Ali Hosseini, stated that state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had planned the offer of around 220 million barrels of crude oil with the ai...

Algeria has initiated the offering of Islamic financial products, in a move to lure the country's informal money market to the banking sector. The Algerian economy has suffered an unprecedented decline due to the COVID-19 epidemic and drop in global oil prices; experts have warned of a 15% increase in unemployment, whilst the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a 5.2% year-on-year (YoY) contraction in Algeria’s gross domestic product for 2020. The majority of cash flow within Algeria, Africa's largest country, takes place outside the ba...

The Government of Bangladesh has taken initiative to export Halal meat, food and beverages to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said Bangladesh's Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) Secretary, Rawnak Mahmud. Mahmud reported that the MoFL has sent a list of local companies in the sector and their export capacities to the relevant authorities in the UAE, adding that the UAE-based companies can now contact them directly. These efforts are  a result of the UAE State Minister for Food Safety Affairs, Maryam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mehri, remarki...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has reaffirmed Danajamin Nasional’s (Danajamin) Insurer Financial Strength ratings at AAA/Stable/P1. The Senior and Subordinated Sukuk of the company’s Sukuk Murabahah Programme (extending to MYR 2 billion) were rated AAA/Stable and AA1/ Stable, respectively.  The ratings reflect the anticipated support of the Government of Malaysia in its mandate to stimulate the country’s bond and Sukuk market, as well as the company’s sound financial metrics despite its first-ever default of MYR 105 million earlier...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed its rating of the MYR 2.5 billion Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN) programme of MISC Berhad (MISC) at AAA-IS, with a Stable Outlook. MISC is the main liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping provider for Petroliam Nasional (PETRONAS), the Malaysian oil and gas company.  MARC’s affirmed rating of MISC reflects the expectation of strong support from PETRONAS, given the operational and financial ties between the two companies. The rating also takes into consideration the consistent source of revenue from...

Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) made its first Sukuk Murabahah issuance under its Sukuk Murabahah Programme on the 14th of August, 2020. The issuance has a nominal value of MYR 600 million and maturity terms of three years (maturing on the 14th of August 2023), seven years (maturing on the 13th of August 2027) and ten years (maturing on the 14th of August 2030). MRCB, in its filing with Bursa Malaysia, stated that the funds will be utilised by the companies...

Indonesia’s external debt (inclusive of Government and private sector borrowings) rose 5% year-on-year (YoY) to USD 408.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), according to Bank Indonesia (BI). This exceeded the first quarter’s growth of 0.6% YoY. The Indonesian Government’s foreign debt increased 2.1% YoY to USD 196.5 billion in June 2020, while public sector debt (raised by the Government and BI) reached USD 199.3 billion. According to BI, the increase in foreign debt was due to the Government issuing...

The Malaysian economy is slowly beginning to recover from the COVID-19 crisis since its gradual reopening in May 2020, Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz reported, adding that the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) instated from the 10th of June, 2020 has already made significant gains. The brunt of the MCO executed by the Government of Malaysia to stem the spread of the pandemic was felt in April 2020, with the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plunging...