Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has reignited its plans to issue a USD-denominated Sukuk worth USD 750 million, according to industry sources. DIB had postponed the issuance of this Sukuk during volatility in the financial market in early 2020. According to industry sources, DIB had hired a group of banks including Arab Bank Corporation, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, to lead the potential Sukuk issuance.  Local media reported that the potential...

Speaking at a webinar hosted on the IslamicMarkets Platform on the 3rd of June 2020, Monem Salam, Executive Vice President at Saturna Capital, shared his views with the guest host, Stuart Hutton, Chief Investment Officer at Simply Ethical.With 17 years of industry experience, Salam provided insight evidencing how Islamic Finance investment instruments have proven their resilience over time, historically during the 2008/09 financial crisis and now with COVID-19. Salam noted that portfolios having some Sukuk exposure performed better than the overall market, with less-than-market declines, compa...

Cypark Resources (CR) is seeking to issue a perpetual medium-term Islamic note programme (Sukuk Musharakah) of up to MYR 500 million, to raise fresh funds for its renewable energy projects. According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia (BM) on the 4th of June 2020, CR stated that the funds raised from the Sukuk issuance will be utilised by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cypark Renewable Energy, to refinance existing borrowings, meet capital expenditure needs, fund working capital requirements, for genera...

Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia (Garuda) has received approval from majority of its Sukuk holders to extend the tenure of its USD 500 million Sukuk by three years, as Garuda faces financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition to the proposal to extend the tenure of the Sukuk, Garuda also requested Sukuk holder approval for a covenant holiday until Garuda’s operations return to pre COVID-19 levels. According to Garuda, 89% of Sukuk holders have agreed to these amendments. Fuad Rizal, Garuda’s Finance and Risk Ma...

With the Government of Indonesia planning to re-open its economy, the World Bank (WB) has predicted the Indonesian economy to shrink by 3.5% in a worst-case scenario, if the nationwide large scale social restrictions (PSSB) imposed by regional Governments last for four months. However, under its baseline scenario, Indonesia is expected to grow 0% this year. According to Ralph van Doorn the WB’s Senior Economist for Indonesia, the WB expects private consumption in Indonesia to decline driven by layoffs and a fall in consumer confidence. Van Doorn stated tha...

Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has lowered 20% of Asean Bank's issuer default ratings (IDRs) under its portfolio since March 2020, following a substantial increase in risks amongst financial institutions due to the economic volatility induced through COVID-19. Fitch stated that it has affirmed around 80% of its ASEAN banks portfolio during the aforesaid period with 41% of the portfolio subject to downward outlook revisions. The rating agency added that it now has about 30% of its ASEAN banks either on “negative outlook” or “rating watch negative&rd...

The Government of Indonesia on the 4th of June 2020, announced a new stimulus package worth IDR 677.2 trillion (USD 47.6 billion) to stabilize the virus-battered economy, aiming at improving the healthcare system, steering more investment on social security to improve consumption, as well as offering opportunities to save Indonesian firms from bankruptcy and related redundancies. According to local media reports, the Government will provide IDR 87.55 trillion for the healthcare sector, IDR 203.9 trillion to focus on strengthening social safety net programs, IDR 123.46 tri...

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has released its expectations on Malaysia’s economic performance anticipating a contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1.5-3.0% for 2020, with growth expected to recover to 6.2-6.7% off the low base in 2020. MARC’s expectations for 2020 are based on weak performance in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020), with GDP forecast to decelerate further in the current quarter (Q2 2020), due to the effects of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The Q2 2020 forecast reflects the anticipated decline in private consumption, which is e...

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Washington based global financial industry body, has stated that the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are experiencing the toughest economic catastrophe in their history following the dual impact of plummeting oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the IIF, the overall real gross domestic product (GDP) of GCC nations is expected to contract 4.4% in 2020, despite some signs that the spread of the pandemic has been successfully curbed, with some restrictions being eased in recent weeks. Slashes in pub...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has agreed to provide Murabahah Financing of EUR 8 million to Banque Islamique du Sénégal (BIS), a Senegalese bank, to support trade finance operations within the country’s private sector, according to media reports. The funding is focused on helping Senegal, which is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to cope with the economic crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, by channelling capital towards the private sector to drive jobs and socio-economic developmen...