Data from the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) showed that Shariah-compliant assets of Pakistan’s Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) constituted 29.9% of overall NBFI sector assets as of 30 June 2019, reaching PKR 340.03 billion.  Total Sukuk outstanding stood at PKR 498 billion as at the end of 2018, accounting for 77% of Pakistan’s total corporate debt market. Takaful's share in the overall insurance market has also been improving. In terms of gross premiums, Takaful accounted for 10...

One of the pillars within Islamic/conventional debt capital markets is determining the right pricing for your cost of funding. This vital issue is a deal-breaker for potential issuers. Slowly and increasingly some of the biggest Emerging Market issuers are starting to equip themselves with former “debt capital market” bankers in order to master the art of pricing and create value for stakeholders. One of the most brightest example of such strategy is Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center  (NDMC). On 22nd of January 2020, the formerly known as Debt Management Off...

Stable domestic consumption and growing consumer awareness have allowed Malaysia’s Takaful industry to enjoy faster growth than the country’s conventional insurance sector. Data from Fitch Ratings showed that in the first half of 2019, family and general Takaful premiums rose by 29.6% and 16.4% YoY, respectively. In the same period, conventional life insurance in Malaysia grew 12.2% YoY, with the general insurance sector declined 1.3% YoY.  The Takaful sector is also gaining market share in Malaysia’s domestic insurance market...

At a media briefing on the maiden Halal Expo Nigeria 2020, President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Adetokunbo Kayode stated that Nigeria has an abundance of Halal products and partnerships that have the potential to attract investments for economic growth in the country.  The ACCI President stressed that these opportunities needed to be harnessed in order to ensure that Nigeria keeps pace with global trends in the Halal industry, and also for the country to address important social issues, such as poverty. The C...

According to Fitch Ratings, the inclusion of Sukuk instruments in Taiwan’s Formosa bond market could be beneficial to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issuers, including Islamic banks, as it would enable them to diversify funding and broaden their investor pool without increasing currency risk. Taiwan's Formosa Sukuk market was launched in 2019, after regulatory guidelines were relaxed to allow foreign borrowers to issue investment-grade Sukuk denominated in currencies other than the New Taiwan Dollar. Currently, the Formosa market is almost entirely US dollar-de...

Offa, the UK’s first Shariah-compliant bridging lender, has obtained a significant funding line from Gatehouse Bank.  The company provides its clients’ loans between GBP 100,000 and GBP 10 million, with a maximum of 75% finance-to-value and has seen strong demand for its residential and commercial bridging finance products since the company launched in September 2019.  Having gained a reputation amongst its clients as a differentiator offering value-for-money services, Offa hopes this new funding line will help to sustain the momentum. Offa’s se...

Al Rayan Investment  (ARI), a fully owned subsidiary of Masraf Al Rayan (the second-largest Shariah-compliant Islamic bank in Qatar) announced plans of setting up a new branch in Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).  Set to be the first fully-fledged digital bank to be located at the AIFC, this will be ARI’s first international expansion. The new branch will focus on developing Islamic banking products and investments through the application of fintech. Commenting on the expansion, ...

TBA has launched a new cyber security Takaful protection policy targeted at both start-ups and large organisations with the aim of supporting them in mitigating cyber security threats.  The policy particularly focuses on data protection and manages the liability risk that could arise through data breaches, ransomware, or third-party data theft. The policy covers privacy liability, network security liability, media liability, cyber extortion, data asset losses as well as business interruption (where downtime caused by cyber incidents could result in loss of sales an...

Indonesia’s Takaful industry reached IDR 16.7 trillion in 2019, led by family Takaful, which accounted for IDR 13.9 trillion (83% of the Takaful market), according to data from Fitch Ratings.  Family Takaful grew at a rate of 10% Year-on-Year (YoY) in 2019 (14% in 2018), outperforming the country’s conventional life insurance market, which grew by only 1% YoY in 2019. Indonesia’s life insurance industry is still in its nascent stages, with penetration at around 1.5%. Fitch attributes low penetratio...

Following the downgrade of NMC Health PLCs corporate family rating due to governance shortfalls, Moody’s also downgraded the USD 400 million trust certificates of NMC Healthcare Sukuk Ltd due 2023 to Caa1 from Ba2, and maintains all ratings under review for a downgrade. These downgrades come on the back of governance issues including significant weaknesses in oversight, internal operational controls, and financial management, which have resulted in the removal of key senior executives from the management team. Moody’s also stated that it will be withdrawing...