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The seminar 'The Transformation of the Islamic Finance Industry in Indonesia' was held by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) in collaboration with Financial Services Authority (OJK). President Joko Widodo’s has repeatedly called for the revival of growth in Indonesia’s Islamic finance industry, which is currently being hindered by fragmented regulations. Through this seminar, ICD and OJK aimed to impart the know-how related to the implementation of Shari’ah standards.

The first China-UAE Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance is organized between May 24-25, 2016 in Beijing, China. The Conference will serve as an international platform for experts, decision-makers, scholars, academicians and other Islamic Banking and Finance stakeholders to exchange knowledge and best practices. The debuting conference aims to capitalize on the strategic ties between the UAE and China to identify challenges and opportunities related to Islamic finance.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group and the World Bank Group have jointly produced a global report on Islamic finance. The full report, titled 'Islamic Finance: A Catalyst for Shared Prosperity?', will be launched during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting later this year. Some of the key recommendations include having adequate policy interventions and financial infrastructure to enable Islamic finance serve as a catalyst for poverty alleviation and inclusive prosperity.

ADNOC Distribution and Abu Dhabi Ports signed a Mustaha agreement. The new agreement aims to strengthen ADNOC Distribution's capacity to develop new projects at Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad) and provide logistical support. The agreement was signed by Saeed Mubarak Al Rashidi, CEO of ADNOC Distribution and Mana Mohammed Saeed Al Mulla, CEO of Kizad. ADNOC Distribution will set up a lubes and grease plant, as well as strategic storage warehouses. The company will commence its operations in the new location by the beginning of 2022.

The issue of sustainable development goals (SDGs) was discussed intensely at the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jakarta. Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said many aspects of the SDGs were covered by Islamic finance, arguing that most customers served by Islamic micro-finance were poor people who were not in the banking system. Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo added the size of Islamic finance is still very small, representing only 1% of total global finance.

Brunei's efforts to expand the scope of the financial sector are aimed at ensuring a greater diversity of public and private sector financing. In April Brunei Darussalam issued two sukuk worth a combined $150m. The first, a $50m bond with a rental rate of 1.03%, has a one-year maturity, while the second offering, a $100m sukuk with a rental rate of 0.78%, will mature in July. In the period from 2001 to 2015 Brunei Darussalam offered 119 short-term sukuk, equivalent to 2.32% of the global market by value. The Sultanate stands alongside Indonesia and Malaysia as major issuers of Islamic financial instruments in the region and is poised to play a growing role in the issuance of sukuk in coming years.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index was last at 119.83102 points, up from 116.97354 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 118.12115 points against 115.21206 at end-2015. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, which completed a debut sale of US$300 mn of five-year sukuk this year as well as two private placements, plans a further transaction in coming months.

The government of Bahrain has privately placed a $435 mn, three-year sukuk issue in a deal arranged by Noor Bank, Bank ABC and Kuwait Finance House. The deal was priced in the area of 325 basis points over midswaps. Strained by low oil prices, Bahrain borrowed in February $600 mn in a two-tranche reopening of a previous US dollar bond issue. On Saturday Moody's Investors Service cut its rating of Bahrain's sovereign debt by one notch to Ba2, taking the rating deeper into junk territory, with a negative outlook.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has appointed Hani Salem Sonbol as its CEO. As ITFC is an autonomous member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) the announcement was made at the 41st annual meeting of the IDB in Jakarta. Sonbol expressed his thanks to Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of IDB’s board of directors. He held several leading positions, including deputy CEO of ITFC, director of the IDB Group Regional Office in Rabat, and director of trade finance and development department at IDB.

Sharia student loans will be set up for the first time in Britain as part of a drive to boost the number of young Muslims applying to university. The government vowed to tackle the issue by creating a Takaful model, which is Sharia-compliant. Although no interest would be charged, the government said that repayments would be structured so that the total paid back would be the same as that paid by a student with a regular loan.

The Islamic Development Bank's annual meeting was held on Monday in Jakarta, Indonesia. At the meeting Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said sukuk played a significant role in promoting resilient infrastructure and sustainable economic development, and therefore should be boosted in the future. Indonesia has been active in sukuk markets since 2007. This year, Rp 110.9 trillion (US$ 8.33 bn) in sukuk was issued in the domestic and international markets, according to ministry data.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed EI Sukuk's updated $2.5 bn certificate issuance programme's 'A+' rating on the basis of the final programme documents received. The Outlook on the IDR is Stable. The rating on the current outstanding certificates is driven by Emirates NBD's (ENBD) Long-Term IDR of 'A+'/Stable. This is due to the Sukuk structure where ENBD, as the guarantor, provides a direct and unconditional guarantee of EI's Sukuk obligations under the transaction documents.

Guidance Capital Markets announced it closed a three year Sukuk issuance for the Saudi Arabian conglomerate Al Bayan. The USD denominated Sukuk was issued last week through a private placement with three GCC banks, and was led by Guidance, who also acted as financial advisor to Al Bayan. The issuance is one of the first transactions of its kind, where a private conglomerate in KSA closed a USD dollar Sukuk through a private placement.

Gulf borrowers are back in the bond market, and a new pattern is emerging. GCC bond sales climbed 32% to a total $15.9 bn this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dubai’s government sold a $569 million privately-placed sukuk in March and Emirates NBD raised $499 mn from such deals. Bahrain and Oman have also opted to privately place sovereign issues. Rizwan Kanji, consultant at King & Spalding said most private-placement issuances are underwritten by the arrangers, which provides the issuer with certainty of execution and pricing.

Suriname's Trust Bank plans to complete a conversion of its operations to Islamic banking by the end of this year, becoming the first full-fledged Islamic bank in South America. CEO Maureen Badjoeri said the bank aims to expand financing to small businesses and build stronger commercial links with Muslim countries. The advisor of the coversion is the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), which may also take a strategic stake in the bank after the transition is completed.

The Ugandan government reviewed the Financial Institutions Act 2004, that allowed the introduction of both Islamic and Agency banking. However, Islamic finance agitators still believe that without the revision of the Central Bank Act, the Hire Purchase Act, The Stamp Duty Act and the Accounting Principles Act, it will be difficult for Islamic finance to deepen in Uganda. Sulaiman Lujja from the Islamic University in Uganda says Central Banks have to develop, adopt and adapt various policies and prudential guidelines.

On May 15 representatives of 56 muslim countries came together at the 41st IDB annual meeting in Jakarta. In 2015, the IDB Group recorded approvals worth $1.83 bn, representing 21% of the total since the bank’s inception. In Turkey Islamic banking comprises 5% of the total banking system, but the government aims to increase this figure to 15% by 2023. IDB's president, Ahmad Mohamed Ali, said the bank also fully supported Turkey’s plans to develop Istanbul as an international financial center.

Bank Al Jazira will meet local fixed income investors this week for a sukuk sale which will improve its Tier 2. The transaction will likely run for ten years but includes an option to redeem the sukuk after five years. It is being arranged by GIB Capital, as well as the bank's own investment banking arm. Bank Al Bilad has chosen HSBC's Saudi Arabian arm to arrange its own Tier 2-enhancing sukuk issue. According to their respective financial statements, Bank Al Jazira's CAR was 15.83% at the end of 2015. At the same point, Bank Al Bilad's CAR was 15.88%.

Emirates Islamic Bank has mandated banks including HSBC for the sale of Islamic bonds. The sale of the dollar-denominated, benchmark-sized securities may begin this week and the sale is arranged by Standard Chartered, Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank, Noor Bank and Bank ABC. Emirates Islamic Bank last sold bonds in July 2012, when it raised $500 mn from securities with maturity of between five and six years.

Dubai’s Noor Bank has picked seven banks to arrange investor meetings ahead of a potential Tier 1 dollar-denominated sukuk issue. Joint global coordinators include: Citi, Standard Chartered, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Gulf Bank, Noor Bank and Sharjah Islamic Bank. Dubai’s government owns 48% of Noor Bank, which starts to hold meetings with fixed income investors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.