IslamicFinance.de

Bandar Hajjar, president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), announced that the bank would soon issue its largest sized Sukuk for $2.5 billion. IDB is a regular issuer of Sukuk having last issued in September 2017 with a $1.25 billion issuance which was priced at 2.261%. The bank has recently partnered with China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and plans to co-finance many projects in Africa. Africa has witnessed a growing share of mostly sovereign Sukuk issuances. Sudan, Gambia, Senegal, South Africa have all issued sovereign sukuk, the latest issuer is Cote d’Ivoire with its inaugural debut in 2015 of USD 260 million.

#Malaysia-based firm HelloGold has received a Syariah-compliant certification for its gold-backed cryptocurrency and plans to launch its online gold platform in Thailand. HelloGold's chief marketing officer Manuel Ho said the cryptocurrency product was named GOLDX and received certification from Amanie Advisors. GOLDX involves the issuance of a token backed by physical gold stored in a Singapore vault and transactions must be completed within a defined time period. Over the past year, the firm has also rolled out a mobile app in Malaysia that is based on blockchain. The mobile app, which allows users to buy and sell physical investment grade gold, was also certified by Amanie Advisors. Manuel Ho added that HelloGold would expand its gold platform into Thailand in coming months, while potentially adding a third market by the end of the year.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is set to form a partnership with the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to address the large infrastructure gap in developing countries. IDB president Bandar Hajjar said the bank would co-finance many projects with AIIB in the future in Africa to finance infrastructure projects. Co-operation between the AIIB and the IDB is set to create a new force in development finance for several developing countries. Many of the IDB’s 57 member countries overlap with the AIIB’s approved membership of some 80 nations.

Yinson Holdings is raising more funds through its Yinson TMC unit to raise MYR1.5bn ($385.2m) in perpetual mudharabah bonds. The raised money will be used to refinance outstanding financing facilities, provide funds for working capital and capital expenditure for new projects. AmInvestment Bank and Maybank Investment Bank are the joint principal advisers, joint lead arrangers and joint lead managers for the programme. Yinson also launched another $500m multi-currency perpetual bond programme last year in July.

In this interview, two product aggregator start-ups, Jirnexu and Fatberry, are discussing their experiences in collaborating with carriers and regulators. Jirnexu is currently in the BNM Regulatory Sandbox and this way gets great support from the regulator. The regulatory sandbox has a customer-focused vision and uses its technology to help with communication, education and purchasing of Insurance. Fatberry is focused on the General Insurance space. It aims at focusing on the customer’s needs and pain points when building its solutions.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) sees great potential in Islamic finance, considering that the country has the largest Muslim population in the world. According to the President, sharia banking assets continued to increase in 2017 and amounted to Rp435 trillion (about US$32.2 billion) or about 5.8% of the total assets of Indonesian banks. In addition, the sharia capital market in Indonesia also continues to improve with sukuk reaching a 19% market share. The government also noted that non-bank Islamic finance industry assets have doubled since 2013. Jokowi explained that the potential of sharia industry and trade can be immediately developed in the Muslim fashion industry, halal food industry, pharmaceutical industry and tourism industry. He urged all people to become the driving force of the sharia economy.

CIMB Group Holdings expects sovereigns to issue 'green' Islamic bonds for the first time this year. CEO Rafe Haneef said about 3 to 5 sovereign sukuk issues are exptected to come to market this year and some of them will be green issuances. Corporates are also eyeing green sukuk issuances. Green bonds are a growing category of fixed-income securities, raising capital for projects with environmental benefits. Rafe says more and more investors are allocating funds for socially responsible investments (SRI) and Islamic bond issuers could benefit from that. He expects the total number of Islamic bond issuances this year to be slightly higher than last year, driven mainly by infrastructure bonds in Southeast Asia. He expects some new issuers to enter the sukuk market, saying state-owned enterprises from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were possibilities.

Mudajaya Group’s unit, Sinar Kamiri, has issued its RM245mil green SRI sukuk wakalah. The coupon rate is between 4.96% and 6.35% per year and the coupon will be payable semi-annually. Proceeds from the issuance of the sukuk will be utilised for the development of a large-scale solar photovoltaic energy-generating facility of 49MW in Perak. The company stated that the issuance of the sukuk is not expected to have any material effect on the net assets and earnings per share of Mudajaya for the financial year 2018. However, the gearing and interest cost for Mudajaya are expected to increase for FY18 and onwards.

At 37 years old, Arsalaan Ahmed is the youngest chief executive in the Malaysian Islamic finance industry. As CEO of HSBC Amanah Malaysia, his vision is to change the industry’s narrative on Islamic finance. So far, the narrative has focused a lot on the technicalities of products and services. Arsalaan says these discussions should be focused on the principles of social justice and create a positive impact on society. He plans to allow retail investors to invest directly in sukuk. Currently, individual sukuk requires an initial investment of RM500,000. By lowering the initial investment amount, investors with sufficient knowledge of the market could invest directly. Arsalaan says 2018 is a good time to democratise sukuk because of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, which aims to improve the infrastructure of land and maritime routes. According to HSBC, the initiative involves US$4 trillion worth of investments and 900 planned projects.

Takaful Malaysia aims to expand its market share in the general takaful business after recording higher turnover and earnings for its 2017 fiscal year. The company increased its revenue by 6.5% to RM2.14 billion year-on-year due to the higher sales in the family and general takaful businesses. Group CEO Datuk Seri Mohamed Hassan Md Kamil said the company maintained its lead position in the family takaful segment and the fire and motor classes’ gross contribution shot 20% up from FY16 to close at RM591 million. He added that Takaful Malaysia is also in the middle of enhancing its digital capabilities. Significant investment has been made in tools, applications and new technologies to improve operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience. The takaful operator surpassed the RM200 million mark for the first time since its inception in 1984, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 27%.

Takaful Malaysia plans to introduce new product solutions to improve its growth rate. The company said it made significant investments in tools, applications and new technologies to improve operational efficiencies and customer experience. For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, Takaful Malaysia’s net profit stood at RM56.3 million, 43.4% higher than the RM39.26 million recorded in the previours period. Revenue increased 5.5% from RM490.82 million to RM517.74 million. Its full-year net profit soared 17.3% from RM176.28 million to RM206.7 million, with revenue rising 6.3% from RM2.01 billion to RM2.14 billion. Takaful Malaysia group CEO Datuk Seri Mohamed Hassan Kamil said the group’s profit surpassed its target and for the first time exceeded RM200 million since its establishment. He added that the group takaful business and general takaful gross contribution grew 20% from the previous financial year to close at RM591 million, mainly derived from the fire and motor classes.

It is well established that good corporate governance strengthens institutions and financial sectors, and in so
doing contributes to building strong economies and economic growth.

Deficiencies in corporate governance were among the factors that contributed to the global financial crisis
(GFC) of 2007–08. As a result, global standard setters such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
(BCBS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been updating and
strengthening their guidelines on good governance practices.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), which sets standards for Islamic financial institutions, published its
Guiding Principles on Corporate Governance in 2006 as its standard IFSB-3. The Principles address, within the
context of corporate governance, the distinct features of Islamic banks, such as the different relationship that
they have with some of their stakeholders.

More:

According to Luo Nan, China country head at The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the country faces immense challenges in pushing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) programme. Still, ESG is fast becoming a well-known concept. 2016 was a big turning point, when China released the "Guidelines for Establishing the Green Financial System". The China Securities Regulatory Commission has set out a timetable which will require all listed companies to mandatorily disclose environmental information by 2020. There is increased awareness and interest from investors in relation to the Principles for Responsible Investment. There is also an increasing volume of jobs available in China relating to ESG. Luo Nan believes that communication to the public and broader education among investors are key to developing the broad ESG programme in China. Evidence on risk and consequent implications for investors need to be much better developed and communicated.

The Republic of Indonesia has appointed banks for a US dollar sukuk offering that could include the first offshore Green bond from an Asian sovereign. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, CIMB, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank and HSBC are joint bookrunners. The sukuk maturities are expected to be of 5 and 10 years, and the issuer may also consider the possibility of a longer dated tranche. Poland was the first sovereign to issue Green bonds, in a euro-denominated transaction in 2016. In Asia, Hong Kong has also expressed interest in issuing Green bonds. Indonesia last issued dollar bonds in December, when it completed a $4 billion transaction split across three tenors.

Great Eastern Takaful has appointed Shahrul Azlan Shahriman as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Shahrul Azlan was the Chief Distribution Officer in Prudential BSN Takaful, with local and international experience in multichannel distribution. Great Eastern Takaful Chairman, Datuk Kamaruddin Taib said Shahrul Azlan was the best person to steer the company given his vast experience and established track record. He added that in Malaysia there was tremendous potential for Great Eastern Takaful to serve the underinsured and fast-growing Islamic insurance market in the country.

Bank Islam Malaysia has recently launched its social finance initiative, Sadaqa House. It aims to provide products and services to collect sadaqah, waqf and hibah. The public can contribute to realising social finance projects for sectors such as healthcare, education and entrepreneurship through the bank’s digital crowdfunding partnership with Ethis Ventures and GlobalSadaqa.com. Bank Islam CEO Khairul Kamarudin said the bank was utilising technology in its Shariah solutions to deliver a service that is aligned with the current digital trend. Also, contributors can ensure the funds contributed are being channelled accordingly and track the progress of the chosen project. Ethis Ventures founder Umar Munshi said the platform was not limited to Muslims and Malaysians. Any amount of money can be donated by the public into the Sadaqa House fund account, while Bank Islam will match the raised fund at the rate of 1:1 to a maximum of RM500,000.

#Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional pushed out an exchangeable sukuk to raise US$ 309.4 million to US$ 320.8 million. The zero-coupon sukuk are exchangeable into CITIC Securities Co Ltd’s Hong-Kong listed H-shares. They have a tenor of five years and an investor put option after three years. The sukuk will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, Labuan International Financial Exchange and Bursa Malaysia. CIMB and J.P. Morgan are the joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for the transaction.

Khazanah Nasional's exchangeable Sukuk of USD320.8mil (RM1.27bil), which has a tenure of five years, was oversubscribed by 5.5 times. The exchangeable Sukuk would reference the value of H-shares in CITIC Securities, China’s largest securities brokerage firm. Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said it was opportune for the fund to price the deal on the back of positive market sentiments in China. The exchangeable Sukuk is structured based on the principle of Wakalah and provides the Sukuk holder with the option to receive cash or shares upon exchange. The Sukuk will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, Labuan International Financial Exchange and Bursa Malaysia. CIMB and J.P. Morgan are the joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for this exchangeable Sukuk transaction.

i-VCAP Management is expecting US$50 million (RM198 million) to be subscribed upon its initial subscription period via an initial public offering on Feb 9. The MyETF-US50 will be the first US dollar-denominated Syariah-compliant security to be listed on Bursa Malaysia. i-VCAP CEO Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki said ETFs are one of the fastest growing investment products in the world. The MyETF-US50 is aimed at providing investment results that closely correspond to the performance of the benchmark index, the Dow Jones Islamic market US Titans 50. According to i-VCAP chairman Tuan Haji Rosli Abdullah, the MyETF-US50 enables investors to access the US equity market in US dollars, marking a new chapter in the Malaysian capital market.

The Securities Commission Malaysia recently issued its 'Guidelines on Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Funds' to promote the growth of such funds in Malaysia. Often termed as ethical investments, SRI investments not only provide benefits to society, but also encourage corporate practices that embrace environmental stewardship, consumer protection, human rights and diversity. The new guidelines, which enable market funds to be designated as SRI funds, will widen the range of SRI products. According to the new guidelines, the policies and strategies of SRI funds must adopt one or more sustainability considerations such as the UN Global Compact Principles, the Sustainable Development Goals and other environmental, social or governance factors. The Guidelines also introduce additional disclosure and reporting requirements to encourage more transparency.