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The government of Pakistan is set to raise Rs150 billion with the reopening of its existing five-year Ijarah Sukuk issuance, maturing in July 2025. The steps of reopening of existing Sukuk is similar as that of issuance of a completely new Sukuk. The Sukuk was originally issued last month. Pre-auction target was set at Rs60 billion for fixed rental rate Sukuk for August-October. The target for the variable rental rate Sukuk has been fixed at Rs90 billion. For the subsequent period, the rental rate for the reopened Sukuk would be the same as that of the first issue. Similarly, the maturity of the reopened Sukuk would also be the same as the first issue.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the auction calendar for issuance of Rs225 billion sovereign Sukuk based on Ijarah. Pre-auction target is set at Rs75 billion for April, while similar amounts are set for May and June 2020. The latest issuance is the part of Rs700 billion worth Ijara Sukuk. The federal cabinet approved the launching of this bond early this month. The bond would help mobilise excessive funds available with Islamic banks and help the government to diversify its debt. Last week, the World Bank said the economic output was expected to contract sharply in Q4FY20, bringing overall FY20 growth to negative 1.3%.

Pakistan sought financial and technical assistance from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to establish an export-import bank to improve trade among Muslim economies. International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is an autonomous body under the Islamic Development Bank that aims to promote trade to improve the economic condition of the people of Muslim countries. Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said ITFC has provided financing facility to Pakistan to cover its oil and liquefied natural gas imports over a period of three years. Furthermore, he asked ITFC to develop training tools in Islamic banking as Islamic banking is very popular in the country.

The State Bank of #Pakistan issued an updated Islamic financing facility for the renewable energy projects. The financing under Islamic Financing Facility for Renewable Energy (IFRE) is now available to the customers under three categories. Under the first category, the prospective sponsors are setting up power projects with a capacity ranging from more than 1MW and up to 50MW for their own use, or sell electricity to the national grid or combination of both. The State Bank of Pakistan will make Mudarabah investment in general pool of Participating Islamic Financial Institutions (PIFIs) under IFRE. IFRE shall be effective immediately and financing shall be available for projects up-to June 30, 2022.

#Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested Yasir Aziz accused in a Modaraba corruption case. The accused acted as finance secretary of M/S Elixir Group and signed the modaraba contracts issued by his brother Shahid Aziz. The public accuses Yasir Aziz of taking the investment and aiding his brother to misappropriate the money. Yasir Aziz also tried to sell the properties owned by the accused Shahid Aziz. NAB Director General Irfan Naeem Mangi confirmed that Yasir Aziz was arrested and assured that the NAB was committed to eradicate corruption from the country.

Saudi authorities are preparing to auction billions of dollars of real estate and cars belonging to billionaire Maan al-Sanea. This is the latest signal that Saudi Arabia is serious about holding its elites to account. In an anti-corruption crackdown last November, authorities detained several senior officials on charges of alleged graft. The al-Sanea case is separate from the main anti-graft campaign. The businessman was detained for unpaid debt dating back to 2009 when his company, Saad Group, defaulted on debts. Creditors have spent the past nine years pursuing Saad for debt that some estimate to be between 40 billion riyals ($10.67 billion) and 60 billion riyals. Al-Sanea's real estate in Khobar was valued at around 4.4 billion riyals. Authorities are preparing an auction to sell his vehicles, equipment, a large quantity of building materials and some property before the month of Ramadan.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) introduced three new international auditing and accounting standards. According to the commission, the AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) shariah standards have been notified after a thorough consultative process. The adopted standards include Shariah Standard No 17-Investment Sukuk, Shariah Standard No 18-Possession (Qabd) as well as Shariah Standard No 23-Agency and the Act of an un-commissioned agent (Fodooli). The commission said it has been playing a proactive role in providing an enabling regulatory environment for the growth of Islamic finance in the country.

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) assigned a preliminary ‘B’ long-term rating to the proposed dollar-denominated sukuk issuance by Pakistan. A similar rating was assigned to the proposed benchmark sized US dollar-denominated senior unsecured sukuk, which will be issued by The Third Pakistan International Sukuk Company. The government may raise the amount with pricing in the range of 5.5 to 7% for 5 to 10 years. This is expected to provide the much needed support to Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. In October last year, Pakistan raised one billion dollars through issuance of 5-year sukuk at a historic low rate of 5.5%. The country floated a 10-year Eurobond of $500 million at 8.25% in 2015. These bonds had S&P rating of B-.

#Pakistan's National Savings is expected to launch its first Islamic savings product by the start of 2018. According to Zafar Masud, director general of National Savings, the proposed product would begin with one year maturity and allow investors to earn monthly profit. The plan is to issue this product from the National Savings centres. Investors can invest a minimum of Rs10,000 with no maximum investment limit. National Savings manages a portfolio which is around 30% of Pakistan’s total banking deposits and serves more than seven million accounts. Experts see prospects of higher demand for Islamic finance to tap domestic savings. It is expected to increase competition among conventional and Islamic lenders to offer best returns to the savers.

#Pakistan's Silk Bank plans to expand its Islamic banking business amid growing demand for Shariah-compliant financial products in the country. The State Bank of Pakistan has given approval to the bank for opening of 20 Islamic and 15 conventional branches this year. Silk Bank CEO Shaukat Tarin said the bank was going to reduce the size of corporate banking, but increase consumer and SME segments. The bank’s consumer banking portfolio continued to grow, while its non-performing loans fell by Rs10 billion in January-June 2017. The bank also made its commitment to revive the mortgage business in the current low interest rate environment. Shuja Alvi, head of investment at Silk Bank, said the bank continued to make heavy investments. Since acquisition, the sponsors have invested Rs430 billion in the bank through multiple funding.

Iran and Venezuela inaugurated a joint bank to finance their development projects. The opening ceremony took place in Tehran during a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The Tehran based Iran-Venezuela Joint Bank has an initial capital base of 200 million dollars, with each nation providing half of the funds. The Export Development Bank of Iran, which is under sanctions from the US Treasury, was tasked with creating the joint bank. The joint bank will work within Iran’s banking regulations and its activities will be overseen by the Islamic republic’s Central Bank. The board of directors comprises four Iranians and four Venezuelans. A joint investment fund will also be launched in Venezuela.

Dawood Islamic Bank Limited (DIBL) has received Rs1 billion (US$12.9 million) investment from Bahrain-based Unicorn Investment Bank Limited. Unicorn already had a 22.2% equity stake in DIBL prior to the current investment. Unicorn Managing Director Aamir Khan said that the decision to invest in Dawood Islamic Bank is based on excellent opportunities that are available in the Islamic banking sector of Pakistan. DIBL Chairman Rafique Dawood said the investment by Unicorn would further boost the bank's ability to provide support to trade and industry through its various Riba-free banking products. DIBL has a network of 21 branches spread over the major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot, Iqbalabad and Joharabad.

The financial crisis of 2008-09 shifted the world's focus towards greater accountability, enhancement in transparency, improvement in governance and a strict limit on leveraging. This has persuaded the world to look towards Islamic finance as a viable financial alternate. The asset-backed nature of Islamic financial transactions, in addition to the prohibition on speculative activities make it a more stable system than its conventional counterpart. Sukuk is being used by many developing countries as a tool of fiscal policy for economic development. Projects like roads, railways, airports and hospitals etc, are particularly appropriate for Sukuk financing. The Pakistani government has issued total 18 domestic Sukuk and three international Sukuk. The financing of infrastructure developmental projects can be achieved through issuance of Sukuk.

In #Pakistan the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) allowed exemption from withholding tax on purchase of immovable property by the Second Pakistan International Sukuk Company. The company has already enjoyed several exemption and concessions, exemption from levy of various advance taxes, profit on debt and tax on income from property. This further exemption was granted to strengthen the Islamic debt market by attracting investors by grant of tax concessions.

The re-entry of #Pakistan into the international Islamic bond market after a gap of two years with the issuance of one billion dollars Sukuk will help the country bolster its external account position. According to analyst Saad Hashemy at Topline Securities, Pakistan's ability to raise funds from the global financial markets at the historic low rates shows investors' optimism about the economic prospects. The government raised $1.0 billion through the issuance of five-year dollar-denominated Sukuk at the historic low rate of 5.5%. The investors across the world showed interest in parking around $2.4 billion in the bonds. Pakistan’s credit rating has remained stable or improved during the last few years. International credit rating agencies Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rated Pakistan as B3 (stable), B (stable) and B (positive), respectively in their last ratings.

The State Bank of #Pakistan (SBP) is pursuing a three-pronged strategy to achieve the goal of 50% financial inclusion by the year 2020. According to Saeed Ahmed, deputy governor of the central bank, twenty million households need microfinance in Pakistan. The forum, organised by Shamrock Conferences International was held to strive for the expansion of financial services. Dr Mohammad Amjad Saqib, chairman of Akhuwat Foundation, delivered the keynote address and stressed the importance of microfinance. Speakers agreed that the microfinance specialists must create a sustainable model by offering competitive microfinance products, reducing costs and expanding their outreach.

The Pakistani government plans to tap international investors’ appetite by offering sukuk worth as much as $750 million for sale. The finance ministry said the structure of the sukuk will be flexible and the issue will have a maturity of at least five years. According to former finance minister Salman Shah the completion of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme and reclassification of Pakistan Stock Exchange to MSCI emerging market index would send a positive signal to the investors. Analysts said improved macroeconomic indicators and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor related activities are attracting positive credit ratings.

Al Baraka Bank has finished due diligence for the proposed merger of Burj Bank. Abid Qamar, chief spokesman at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said Al Baraka was given permission for due diligence of Burj Bank and they have completed the process. Summit Bank and Bank of Khyber were also interested in Burj Bank, but they did not carry out any due diligence process. The deal is expected to be completed within next three months, but the complete integration of both entities would take six to eight months. The potential deal would be a part of the significant efforts, currently being made by the SBP, to fix the problem of the small banks that fell below the minimum capital adequacy ratio requirement and minimum paid-up capital requirement.

The Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) for Polio Eradication has adopted a new work plan to end polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The announcement came at the third annual IAG meeting held at the Islamic Development Bank’s headquarters in Jeddah. In a statement issued by the meeting, the IAG affirms the religious obligation of parents to vaccinate their children to keep them healthy. According to IAG deputy Dr. Abbas Shouman, the misperceptions usually arise due to fatwas issued by non-specialists who leave children exposed to handicap or death. IDB president Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali urged the partner institutions of the IAG to coordinate with WHO to transfer their experience in polio to other emergency and epidemic situations, particularly in Africa.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has passed orders against a takaful company for not complying with the provisions of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000 and the Companies Ordinance, 1984. Further, SECP’s insurance division has also passed an order against a life insurance company under section 130(2) of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000. The SECP has also issued 13 warning letters and four show-cause notices to various insurance and takaful companies for contravening various provisions of corporate laws, insurance laws and related accounting standards and regulations. To maintain transparency and provide equal opportunities to all insurance surveyors, Pakistan Insurance Institute has been mandated to examine and check the competency of surveyors, on the basis of which the SECP will issue a licence.