Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) has stated that the Government of Malaysia will utilize all channels to ensure that Zakat collections and distribution will be sufficient to help the needy weather the economic impact of COVID-19, once the moratorium on bank loans expires at the end of September 2020.  Al-Bakri was speaking at an event which saw 11 companies submit Zakat amounting to MYR 12.9 million to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council’s Zakat Collection Centre (P...

Egypt is hoping to attract new investors by issuing its maiden Sukuk in both local and international markets in the fiscal year starting in July, according to Mohamed Hegazy, Head of Egypt’s Ministry of Finance’s Debt Management Unit.  The country is looking revive its debt strategy, which was put on hold due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, as foreign investors are returning to local assets. The debt strategy involves easing the cost of borrowing by diversifying funding sources and extending maturities, according to media reports.  Hegazy stated that t...

Malaysia’s economic activities and services are recovering, according to Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s Finance Minister. Quoting data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Tengku Zafrul stated that around 12.7 million or 83.5% of employees returned to work in Malaysia as of 2nd of June 2020, compared to mid-May 2020 figures of 10.2 million or 67.2%.  Tengku Zafrul also noted that wholesale and retail trade increased by MYR 17.5 billion or 26.3% to MYR 84.4 billion in May 2020, compared to April 2020. Th...

The Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has affirmed Danajamin Nasional (Danajamin)’s insurer financial strength (IFS) rating, as well as its counterparty credit ratings at AAA and AAA/MARC-1, respectively.  Along with this, MARC has also affirmed its ratings of Danajamin’s Senior and Subordinated Sukuk Murabahah of up to MYR 2 billion combined at AAAIS and AA+IS, respectively. The Outlook on all ratings is Stable, according to MARC. MARC states that IFS rating affirmation is reflective of Danajamin’s position as a state-owned...

Upon Presidential orders, two former task-forces, namely the economic and COVID-19 mitigation task-forces, will now be merged to form the new  National Covid-19 Mitigation and Economic Recovery Committee. The new team will be headed by State-Owned Enterprises Minister, Erick Thohir, whilst Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, will continue the management of the economic task-force and the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency, Doni Monardo, will remain as Chairperson on the COVID-19 mi...

Data from global market intelligence and consulting firm Coherent Market Insights (CMI) reveal that the global halal nutraceuticals and vaccines markets is estimated at USD 49.3 billion for 2019 and is forecast to grow at  a 31.5% CAGR through 2027 to reach USD 88.5 billion.  According to CMI, the key growth driver of the sector is the newly conceived concept of ‘halalopathy’, which has a core focus on that which is Halal/Tayyeb (pure) with regards to the ingredients used in medication and food.  CMI notes that lucrati...

Officials involved in manufacturing the first global halal biosimilar, stated that the biosimilar would be a feature of expanded commercial biosimilar production in Malaysia.  According to officials, the expansion of Malaysia’s local biologics industry is an expensive undertaking, which will be made simpler by going by the biosimilar route, with a lot less investigative  development being required.  Whilst the exact location is yet to be finalised, plans to develop the biosimilar include the construction&...

Malaysia’s Prime Minister (PM), Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, issued a warning to the Malaysian public, against complacency amidst the new normal, as health officials were put on high alert following new outbreak clusters, resulting in new cases being reported in the double-digits. Reflecting on the impact of the first lock-down period, the PM reminded the public of the negative impacts experienced, from individuals losing their jobs, to businesses recording losses, and an overall sense of negativity during lockdown.  According to the PM, ...

According to local media, Indonesia reported a budget deficit of IDR 257.8 trillion (USD 17.5 billion) in the first half of 2020, amounting to 1.57% of the country’s gross domestic product.  Although this was the highest half-yearly budget deficit since the first half of 2016, media reports indicated that it was well below the Government of Indonesia’s expectation of 6.34% for 2020.  Addressing a press briefing on the 22nd of July 2020, Indonesia’s Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, announced the...

Addressing the Parliament, Malaysia’s Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, announced that the six-month loan moratorium would end in September 2020, as scheduled. Banks were advised to provide more targeted assistance to borrowers by restructuring existing loans, to allow them to facilitate repayments. Tengku Zafrul stated that the six-month moratorium was estimated to cost the economy around MYR 100 billion. The Finance Minister stated that with the economy opening up in the first week of May 2020, individuals and businesses had commenced s...