The Government of Indonesia is expected to auction the State Shariah Securities (SBSN) or Sukuk on the 5th of May 2020, in order to raise IDR 8 trillion to meet the financial targets within the 2020 State Budget.  The Sukuk will be auctioned off in two series: State Treasury - Shariah (SPN-S) and Project-Based Sukuk (PBS), according to the Directorate General of Financing and Risk Management of the Ministry of Finance.  The SPN-S series facilities will mature in November 2020 while the PBS series will be issued under four different tranches, namely PBS002, PBS026, PBS00...

The Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) has called on the Government of Malaysia to abolish the Movement Control Order (MCO) without further delay, in order to reinvigorate the economy and ensure job security. Tan Cheng Kiat, the President of MICCI stated that a prolonged MCO could lead to irreversible harm to the country's fiscal stability, investor trust, education, and future jobs of more than a million citizens. However, Kiat also lauded the efforts undertaken by the Government of Malaysia to tackle the on-going pandemic. Kiat said that peopl...

Economists have warned that Indonesia's economy could face a slump and undergo a much longer recovery than other countries in Southeast Asia if the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic remains ineffective.  A Senior Economist of the University of Indonesia, Faisal Basri, has raised his concerns over the Government of Indonesia’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and added that Indonesia could experience an economic contraction of up to 2.5%, or 0.5%, in a best-case scenario based on the current countermeasures taken by the Government. Basri added that the Government of In...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has decided to raise finances through private placement to strengthen its economy and mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Emirate is deviating from the trend amongst its Gulf neighbours of going to public markets to raise finances. According to industry sources, Dubai is discussing these loans and private placements with around a dozen domestic and international banks. Seeking financing facilities of AED 1 billion (USD 272 million) to AED 2 billion from each lender, the Emirate is also asking them to find fixed-income investors to buy private placem...

The Government of Indonesia has raised USD 4.05 billion (IDR 62.6 trillion) from government debt papers (SUN). According to Deni Ridwan, Director for Government Debt Papers of the Finance Ministry, the sales came from three series of sovereign bonds through private placements with undisclosed Shariah and commercial banks. He said that these banks were looking to meet Bank Indonesia’s (BI) new requirement of higher reserves in government bonds.   BI’s Governor, Perry Warjiyo, recently stated that BI requires banks to assist the Government in funding t...

Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) has dedicated AED 550 million (USD 150 million) to assist and restore United Arab Emirates' (UAE)  local export companies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press release, this support fund will be in the form of buyers’ credit facilities, to assist local exporters to expand their businesses. Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the Chairman of ADEX and Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, stated that ADEX can provide necessary financial assistance to help finance transactions with the UAE exporters. He no...

The Government of Malaysia plans to restructure the 12th Malaysia Plan after taking into consideration the economic impacts of COVID-19 on a local and global scale.  According to Arthur Joseph Kurup, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), several economic targets of the nearly complete plan will now need to be relooked in order to ensure that Malaysia’s economic growth remains sustainable. In particular, Malaysia’s dependence on the oil and gas sectors, which account for approximately 20 per cent of Government revenue, needs to be...

RAM Ratings (RAM) has reaffirmed its ratings of three Sukuk instruments of Telekom Malaysia (TM) at AAA/P1, with Outlook Stable. The three Sukuk instruments are Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN) and Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) Programmes. These include an MYR 2 billion IMTN and ICP Programme (2011/2026), an MYR 3 billion IMTN and ICP Programme (2013/2020), as well as an MYR 4 billion IMTN and ICP Programme (2018/2048).  According to RAM, TM has been able to maintain its operational and financial performance in spite of the regu...

The Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) of Dar Al Takaful has given its nod to go ahead with the acquisition of Noor Takaful General and Noor Takaful Family for an amount of AED 215 million. In February 2020, Dar Al Takaful signed a conditional agreement with Noor Financial Investment and Noor Bank to acquire Noor Takaful General and Noor Takaful Family. The OGM’s approval follows the request by Dar Al Takaful’s shareholders with a stake of 10% or more in the company’s shares, to include the matter of this acquisition...

Riyad Bank (RB) informed Tadawul that it was planning to fully redeem its SAR 4 billion, ten-year Sukuk on the 24th of June 2020. According to the statement on Tadawul, the Sukuk will be redeemed in full at its face value. According to the IslamicMarkets Sukuk Monitor, RB issued SAR 4 billion Sukuk on the 24th of June 2015, for a period of ten years, maturing in June 2025. The SAR-denominated Sukuk was issued to enhance RB’s capital base, diversify its sources of financing and extend its maturities. In its statement to Tadawul, R...