IslamicFinance.de

According to CIMB Group Holdings group CEO Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz, banks are doing as much as they can to balance lending to customers with responsible financing. He said commercial banks would want to grow their loans to maximise returns, but that must always be balanced against the banks’ risk metrics. To promote financial inclusivity, CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd have set aside at least RM12bil for the B40 group to access to facilities such as home, automotive, Amanah Saham Bumiputra and personal financing from 2019 to 2020. CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic’s are assisting the B40 segment via the lowest-in-market financing rate of 2.9% per annum, under Bank Negara’s RM1bil Fund for Affordable Homes, to help those in the B40 group buy their first residential property. Based on data from Bank Negara, the industry’s loan growth rebounded slightly to 4.6% year-on-year in May from 4.5% in April, ending a five-month downtrend.

HSBC has launched its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) Islamic structured product in Malaysia. The product offered by HSBC Amanah provides customers the opportunity to invest in a product that matches their values when it comes to environmental and social causes. It pays fixed coupon of 3.90% per annum (three years tenor) and 4.50% per annum (four years tenor) in the first two years of the investment. Payout at the end of third and fourth year is subject to Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index performance. Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index tracks the performances of Hong Kong listed companies that excel in corporate sustainability. The CEO of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Arsalaan Ahmed said the introduction of the ESG Islamic Structured Product clearly demonstrates HSBC’s pioneering strength in Islamic finance, particularly with regard to product innovation.

RHB Bank's Singapore branch completed the world’s largest Islamic bilateral hotel financing deal with the Royal Group, for a five-star luxury hotel valued at S$300mil (RM888.72mil). RHB Bank explained the rarity value of this deal was that hospitality-related assets were used for Islamic financing, which in the past was considered taboo as not all income is deemed to be Shariah compliant. RHB Bank Singapore head of Islamic banking Nazmi Camalxaman said RHB Bank Singapore was focusing on a niche and targeted market for Islamic financing. He pointed out that for the first time in five years, the government is expected to launch a site for hotel rooms as part of its Government Land Sales (GLS) programme in September 2018 amid a positive tourism outlook.

Malaysia is one of the largest markets for Islamic finance. According to Mohieddine Kronfol, chief investment officer at Franklin Templeton Investments, Malaysia's sukuk market could attract Chinese companies if there were more foreign currency-denominated issues. He said Malaysia has attracted foreign companies to issue sukuk, but they were predominantly in ringgit and largely domestically bought.Mohieddine said there should be more transactions in international currencies like the U.S. dollar, and a currency regime or some central bank support that facilitates that. Franklin Templeton Investments projects global sukuk growth at 15-20% this year on the back of stable oil prices, better growth outlook in markets that issue sukuks and sustained demand for Islamic finance.

Public Mutual has on Tuesday launched an e-series fund called Public e-Islamic Flexi Allocation Fund (PeIFAF). The fund's objective is to achieve capital growth over the medium to long-term by investing up to 98% of its net asset value in Shariah-compliant equities or sukuk. Public Mutual CEO Yeoh Kim Hong said PeIFAF has a flexible fund mandate that enables the fund managers to capitalise on investment opportunities. The minimum initial and additional investment amount is only RM100 and the sales charge is up to 3.75%. The initial issue price for PeIFAF is 25 sen per unit during the 21-day initial offer period from Tuesday to April 23. To coincide with the launch of this fund, it is holding a campaign during the initial offer period. The campaign offers 203 prizes. The grand prize is RM3,000 of money market fund units.

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.

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.

The Royal Award for Islamic Finance is on a global search for an exceptional individual in the field of Islamic finance. The biennial award is spearheaded by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia. It recognises Islamic finance visionaries who contribute significantly to the growth of Islamic finance. The award recipient is selected by an independent seven-member international jury chaired by Tun Musa Hitam. The most recent recipient of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance in 2016 was Prof Datuk Dr Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim. He was instrumental in founding the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). The closing date for nominations is March 31, 2018, and interested persons can submit their nominations online.

#Malaysian real estate developer SkyWorld is raising some RM50mil under tranche one of the RM600mil sukuk musharakah programme for its SkyAwani Residence development in Kuala Lumpur. The novel sukuk transaction is the first securitisation of progress billings combined with affordable housing. RAM Ratings Services has assigned a preliminary AA3/stable rating for the sukuk, while Danajamin Nasional is guaranteeing the support facilities. Developed, arranged and advised by NewParadigm Capital Markets, the project has achieved 100% sales. According to NewParadigm executive director Danny Kwan, the primary objective of this financial programme is to monetise the unbilled sales upfront rather than later. It provides for more efficient cashflow management for the residential developer.

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia said it has formed a partnership with AmBank Islamic and will market its general takaful products across the country. The takaful operator said that general takaful products for motor, fire/house and personal accident will be distributed across Ambank Islamic's distribution channels. The two companies will also promote new general takaful solutions tailored to Ambank Islamic's customers. Takaful Malaysia group CEO Datuk Sri Mohamed Hassan Kamil said he was delighted to bring the group's general takaful solutions to serve the evolving needs of AmBank Islamic customers.

Maybank Islamic has launched a rent-to-own (RTO) housing scheme. Named HouzKEY, the product is targeted at first-time house buyers and those who want to upgrade their homes. According to Maybank Islamic's CEO, Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican, HouzKEY addresses the growing issue of concern for affordable home ownership. The new product will initially be made available to Maybank employees and is slated to be rolled out to the general public in early 2018. HouzKEY is the first such RTO product in the country fully enabled on a digital platform, with the application and submission of supporting documents being required to be made online. To be eligible, applicants should have a household income of at least RM5,000 and commit to a minimum rental tenure of five years. They will have the option to purchase the property after one year at a pre-agreed price.

Al Rajhi Bank #Malaysia outgoing chairman Datuk Seri Dr Nik Norzrul said his successor would continue with the plan to expand the bank’s operation, targeting neighbouring markets like Singapore and Indonesia. Nik Norzrul has been with Al Rajhi Bank since the bank established its wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia in 2006. He has been a board member of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia since 2006 and its chairman since 2015. Today the bank has assets worth a total of RM9bil, compared with RM291mil in 2006. In the retail segment, the bank continues to see growth in the demand for current account/savings account services. In the corporate segment, Nik Norzrul said Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia was working on strengthening its presence targeting owner-led enterprises as well as SMEs.

#Malaysian Danajamin Nasional has issued its inaugural RM500 million, tier-2 subordinated sukuk. It is part of a RM2 billion of senior and subordinated Sukuk Murabahah facility. The subordinated sukuk has a tenure of 10 years and is rated AA1 by RAM Rating Services and AA+ by the Malaysian Rating Corporation. The inaugural issue was oversubscribed, receiving a response of about RM800 million from a diverse range of investors. Danajamin CEO Mohamed Nazri Omar said that a total of 16 investors participated in the inaugural issuance and the sukuk achieved a yield of 4.80%. The issuance also sees Danajamin strengthening its regulatory capital level, enabling it to continue meeting its developmental mandate to stimulate the sukuk market.

The shortage of high-quality sukuk in the Islamic finance market is a result of the deficit in virtuous talent, according to Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Former Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) president. He also said there was a lack of safe assets at present, leaving issuances by the government always oversubscribed. He added that the opportunity now existed for sukuk issuance from Indonesia, which has a lot of infrastructure plans such as to build more roads, have trains, ports, better airports and others. In a recent Bank Negara strategic paper, the central bank revealed that the annual growth rate of the Islamic finance industry had slowed from 24.2% in 2011 to 8.2% last year. Mohammad Faiz said MIA has launched the Mini Pupillage Programme to create a pool of knowledgeable and specialised talents in the area of Islamic finance.

As a China state-owned enterprise (SOE) issued its first ringgit sukuk in the domestic bond market, many are wondering if other China companies would be doing the same. Beijing Enterprises Water Group (BEWG) issued RM400mil worth of medium-term notes on July 19 to finance its water treatment project in Kemaman, Terengganu. The sukuk issuance also marks the first ringgit-denominated sukuk by a China state-owned company for water infrastructure funding in Malaysia. According to analysts, China-based entities do not prefer to tap into the domestic sukuk market, as they are backed by strong financing sources from their home country. BEWG chief executive officer Datuk Vence Ong Kian Min noted that this was BEWG’s first-ever debt capital market instrument and the issuance has enabled the group to diversify its funding sources. The RM687mil project is expected to be completed in 2018.

Hong Leong Islamic Bank (HLISB) has appointed Jasani Abdullah as chief executive office. HLISB said Jasani has been acting CEO since December 2016. He has been in the financial industry for more than 30 years and his contribution towards the Islamic banking sector is very much valued. Jasani has been with HLISB since 2007 when he first joined as the head of shariah and product development. Jasani graduated with a Diploma in Public Administration from MARA Institute of Technology Malaysia, Bachelor in Business Administration from Ohio University, USA and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance from International Islamic University Malaysia.

Alkhair International Islamic Bank (AKIIB) has appointed Yeow Tiang Hui as its chief executive officer effective Aug 1.
AKIIB said in a statement that he succeeded Datuk Adissadikin Ali, who left the bank last year to head RHB Islamic Bank. Yeow has worked at several multinational banks, including managing the multinational portfolio at Deutsche Bank and being vice-president of Citibank/Citicorp’s venture capital outfit and its head of commercial banking. From 2007 to 2016 he served as head of corporate banking at Kuwait Finance House in Malaysia.

#Malaysian holding company Sime Darby has received approval from its bondholders to restructure US$800mil (RM3.46bil) worth of sukuk. Holders of the sukuk approved the company’s plan to buy back the papers or replace the borrower to Sime Darby Plantation from Sime Darby. The broader reorganisation of the group involves the proposed listing of Sime Darby Plantation and Sime Darby Property through share distributions. Sime Darby will remain listed, owning the automotive, industrial equipment and logistics businesses. The holding company plans to create three standalone businesses: plantation, property and trading, and logistics. Plantation and property would be listed on Bursa Malaysia, while trading and logistics would remain under Sime Darby.

According to RAM Ratings, global sukuk issuance reached US$22.2 billion (US$1=RM4.33) at the end of March, a marginal decrease from US$24.1bil recorded in the same period last year. Malaysia maintained its leadership by accounting for 38.5% of the total issuance. The ratings agency said Indonesia was next (24.7%) followed by Qatar (9.9%) and the United Arab Emirates (9%). The outstanding global sukuk summed up to US$346.7bil, as at end-March 2017, with Malaysia maintaining its leadership by commanding 48% of the amount. Ruslena Ramli, Head of Islamic Finance at RAM Ratings, said that other Gulf Cooperation Council nations are expected to include sukuk issuance as a debt management strategy. On the domestic front, outstanding Malaysian sukuk expanded 11.5%,year-on-year, to RM691.4bil, as at end-March 2017, from RM620.1bil recorded in the same period last year.

The listing of more Islamic financial institutions on Bursa Malaysia is needed to boost the Islamic fund and wealth management industry going forward. The Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) group chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said this would also strengthen Malaysia's position as a global financial hub. He said that of the 672 syariah-compliant securities listed only two were from the finance sector, namely, BIMB Hodings and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia. Wahid said the shortage of listed Islamic finance institutions could pose big challenges to the industry, especially for the government-linked investment companies. He also suggested three possible ways to further grow the industry. The first is the formation of a second listed Islamic universal banking group, apart from BIMB Holdings. The listing of some of Islamic Development Finance Institutions such as Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bank Rakyat is a second option. The third approach is the creation of a separate listing among banking groups that have sizeable Islamic finance activities embedded within them, such as Maybank, CIMB and RHB.