The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced plans to issue government securities worth PKR 3.025 trillion over May to July 2020, in the form of Market Treasury Bills, Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) and Ijara Sukuk (GIS). Of this total, PKR 2.275 trillion will be issued as short term T-Bills, while the remaining PKR 750 billion will be issued in the form of longer term PIB (PKR 525 billion) and GIS (PKR 225 billion). The PIB target of PKR 525 billion will be split into PKR 375 billion of fixed rate PIB, with tenures ranging from three ye...

The Government of Indonesia and Bank Indonesia (BI) will share the burden and risks of finance rescue packages for businesses that are severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the economic recovery programme, according to the Head of the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Agency, Febrio Kacaribu.  The Government of Indonesia released a regulation to support an economic recovery programme worth IDR 318.09 trillion (USD 21.28 billion), as evidenced in a document issued by the Finance Ministry. Under the Government Regulation (PP) No. 23/2020 that...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh signed a USD 100 million loan agreement to support the country’s public health needs to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement was signed remotely by Secretary of the Economic Relations Division in Bangladesh, Fatima Yasmin and ADB Country Director, Manmohan Parkash on the 13th of May 2020. The agreement was initially approved on the 30th of April 2020, according to a media release from the ADB.   As part of the COVID-19 Response Emergency Assistance Project, the loan w...

Malaysia’s economic growth increased just 0.7% year-over-year (YoY) in Q1 2020, the lowest it witnessed since Q3 2009, when the economy contracted 1.1%, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). Although Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeded expectations of a 1% YoY contraction forecast as per a poll taken from 21 economists on the 12th of May 2020, it was still below the 3.6% YoY growth rate experienced in Q4 2019 and the 4.5% YoY growth reco...

Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd (MARC) has given a preliminary rating of AA-IS for the proposed MYR 1.9 billion Sukuk Murabahah programme of Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), with a Stable Outlook. The proceeds from the proposed Sukuk issuance will be utilized to refinance PTP’s existing government-guaranteed MYR 1.5 billion IMTNs maturing in September 2020, as well as other existing debts. According to MARC, the rating reflects PTP’s strong market position as a key transshipment port in the region, its ab...

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has issued two short-term A-1 rated Sukuk worth USD 600 million in total, at its auction held on the 12th of May 2020. The auction attracted bids of over USD 1.17 billion, with an estimated average bid-to-cover ratio of 195% for the two tranches. The auction garnered interest from over 40 diverse investors, spread across Asia, Europe, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.  According to the IILM, the issuance comprises a one-...

The Government of Indonesia predicts that the economy of the country will expand between 4.5% and 5.5% in 2021, as it believes that the COVID-19 outbreak will still cast a threat on business activity, according to the macroeconomic forecast for the state budget plan for 2021. The macroeconomic assumption is proposed to the House as the first step for the drafting and deliberation of the state budget. Indonesia’s Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, stated that the 2021 state budget will focus primarily on supporting economic recovery, including a re...

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) expects that the Government of Oman will meet its funding needs totalling USD 50 billion over 2020-2023.  S&P stated that 63% of the aforesaid amount will be raised via external debt issuances, while the remaining requirement will be obtained as follows: 18.5% from drawdowns of domestic and external liquid assets, 15% from domestic debt and 3% through other transactions. Rated sub-investment grade by major rating agencies, Oman has resorted to debt financing to counter the impact of falling oil revenues, alo...

Malaysia's economy is projected to contract in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2009, as the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted private consumption and external demand. Based on a poll of 21 economists, the median of the results was for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to contract by 1%, for the first time since the 3rd quarter of 2009. Individual forecasts ranged from a GDP growth of 1.3% to a decline of 4.2%. According to DBS Bank’s Senior Economist, Irvin Seah, the Malaysian economy is expected to face an economic down...

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Executive Board has approved Egypt's application for USD 2.772 billion in emergency financial support under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address the immediate balance of payment requirements resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF said in a statement that under an IMF-supported economic reform program, Egypt had seen a remarkable turnaround with regards to correcting its large external and domestic imbalances, prior to COVID-19. However, that progress was now threaten...