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Pakistan's Adviser on Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the Covid-19 has engulfed the whole world, and the global GDP is going to contract by 3-4%. Hafeez said Islamic banking was growing at a fast pace in Pakistan and he emphasized the potential of Islamic finance to help developing countries cope with the global financial challenges. The adviser said the government established a corona relief fund and transferred cash to 16 million vulnerable families to provide them support in this difficult time.

Pakistan's Power Division has amended the Energy Sukuk Rules aimed at facilitating issuance of Rs 200 Sukuk-II through Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE). On May 6, 2020, the government approved a new mechanism/criterion for disbursement of payments to the power generators. The Power Division has to disburse Rs 300 billion (Rs 200 billion + Rs 100 billion) through CPPA-G to Power sector entities including the power generators in private and public sector for system operation during the summer season.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced the auction for three-year Ijara Sukuk to raise some Rs 225 billion for the federal government. Recently, the federal cabinet approved the issuance of a five-year Ijara Sukuk to generate some Rs700 billion to meet the rising financial requirements for combating COVID-19. Three tenders will be conducted for the sale of the Rs 225 billion sukuk. The first auction will be held on April 16, 2020 for Rs 75 billion, the second on May 16 for Rs 75 billion and the third is scheduled for June 18, 2020 for Rs 75 billion. Pakistan has been issuing Sukuk since 2008 to provide liquidity to the domestic Islamic industry; however, demand for such instruments far surpasses their supply.

Pakistan's government seeks the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) nod for issuance of fresh Sukuks worth Rs 200 billion. IMF's Review Mission is expected to reach Islamabad on November 28, 2019 to evaluate implementation on targets agreed by the Government of Pakistan for $ 6 billion facility. Minister for Power and Petroleum, Omar Ayub Khan last month stated that expensive power sector loans are being replaced with Sukuk which will lessen the financial impact on the economy. Pakistan's circular debt is about Rs 1.6 trillion and the new sukuk is meant to reduce the stock of this historic circular debt. The issue of sovereign guarantee for fresh Sukuks of Rs 200 billion has been raised with the State Bank of Pakistan. Meezan Bank, Faysal Bank, Bank Islami Pakistan, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan, MCD Islamic Bank and Al Baraka Bank Pakistan are the mandated lead arrangers.

Pakistan's Federal Government has decided to issue fresh Sukuk worth Rs 200 billion, in addition to earlier Sukuk of Rs 200 billion through the same consortium of Islamic banks aimed at reducing circular debt. The consortium comprising Meezan Bank Limited, Faysal Bank Limited, Bank Islami Pakistan Limited, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan, MCD Islamic Bank Limited and Al Baraka Bank Pakistan Limited have already submitted their term sheets to the Finance Division. The syndicate of Islamic Banks had also forwarded a tentative term sheet for Rs 100-200 billion which specifies that the facility is subject to availability of suitable assets. The energy sector's circular debt is around Rs 1.5 trillion. According to Minister for Power, Omer Ayub, the government would bring down circular debt to Rs 250 billion by December this year.

The Indonesian government sold 8.44 trillion rupiah ($613.19 million) of sukuk bonds to local retail investors. The sales were slightly higher than the initially-allotted 8.11 trillion rupiah. The tradeable sukuk carry a fixed annual rate of 5.9%, similar to the average rate offered by Islamic banks for 12-month and longer time deposits. The sukuk was sold to a total of 17,922 Indonesians this year. Since the retail sukuk was first launched in 2009, the government has sold a total of 144.78 trillion rupiah of the debt to nearly 250,000 people.

The Federal Board of Revenue has proposed Shariah-compliant criteria for companies whose shares are traded on a stock exchange to avail the reduced rate of tax under Income Tax Ordinance 2001. According to the SRO.1173(I)/2016 issued by the FBR, the Board has proposed amendments to the Income Tax Rules, 2002. To avail reduced rate of tax, the FBR has proposed Shariah-compliant criteria for a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange.

Firstly, the business of the company should be Halal i.e. it shall not include processing or manufacturing of pork, liquor, non-Halal products, pornographic material or any other activity not permitted by Shariah. Secondly, there should be Riba-free (interest-free) financing on the balance sheet of the company; however, the company may be leveraged through Islamic modes of financing obtained from licensed Islamic financial institutions.

Thirdly, all the investments made by the company should be one hundred per cent Shariah compliant; therefore, it would not be permissible for the company to acquire non-Shariah compliant instruments/securities which yield interest or income that is not Halal.

#Pakistan's Islamic banks are introducing new products and adjusting policies to take advantage of government incentives designed to boost growth in the industry. Shariah-compliant banks in the country held 11.4% of total banking assets in June, which is well below levels of around 25% seen in Gulf Arab states. To change this, the government introduced a 2% tax rebate for shariah-compliant manufacturing firms in July to encourage them to eliminate interest-bearing debt from their balance sheets. Abdullah Ghaffar, head of investment banking at Al Baraka Bank Pakistan, said he detected signs of an increase in demand for Islamic financing. According to Syed Abubakr, sharia board member of Emaan Islamic Banking, there is some demand for new products from conventional banks planning to convert their operations into fully-fledged Islamic banks.

The State Bank of #Pakistan (SBP) has announced a reduction in Statutory Liquidity Requirement (SLR) for Islamic banks and Islamic banking branches by 5% to fix at 14%. Presently, some Rs 570 billion of Islamic banking industry has been placed under the SLR with SBP. This amount includes some Rs 308 billion of Sukuk and Rs 225 billion of Bai-Muajjal. With the maturity of Rs 255 billion Bai-Muajjal, the amount will reach Rs 345 billion, therefore SBP has decided to cut the SLR and fix it at 14%. Time Liabilities, including Time Deposits with a tenor of 1 year and above, will not require any SLR. According to Islamic banking representatives, with the maturity of Rs 225 billion Bai-Muajjal, surplus liquidity of Islamic banking industry will surge to some Rs 400 billion, while there are no more investment opportunities for the Islamic banks in Pakistan.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) reported nearly flat third quarter net profit, thus being the latest bank in the United Arab Emirates to suffer from a rise in bad loans as a result of the economic impact of lower oil prices. ADIB made a net profit of 508.9 million dirhams ($139 million) in the three months ending Sept. 30, compared to 503.2 million dirhams in the same period a year ago, up 1.1%. Earlier this month, ADIB chief executive Tirad al-Mahmoud said the bank's earnings in the second half would be similar to the opening six months of 2016. ADIB booked credit provisions and impairment charges totalling 267.7 million dirhams in the third quarter, compared to 193.0 million dirhams in the year-ago period. Net revenues in the third quarter were up 7%, reaching 1.37 billion dirhams compared to 1.28 billion dirhams in the prior-year quarter.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced exemption from KIBOR as benchmark rate for Participatory (Musharika & Modaraba) and Wakalah-based products. For this exemption Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) will be required to ensure some conditions. IBIs will take adequate measures to mitigate equity investment risk in participatory mode based products. In addition, for Modaraba and Musharika based products, IBIs will ensure compliance with minimum Shariah requirements and AAOIFI Shariah Standard No 12 and No 13 as adopted by the SBP. For Wakalah-based products, IBIs will be required to use Arabic version of AAOIFI Shariah Standard No 23 on Agency as guideline in consultation with their Shariah Board.

The Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is in the process of drafting a Shariah regulatory framework. Addressing at the second day of "World Islamic Finance Forum" (WIFF), SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi said SECP has established a full-fledged Islamic finance department to co-ordinate the Islamic finance initiative. He said SECP is fully supporting Shariah compliant business and the government has implemented the SECP's tax proposal for offering Sukuk. SECP is currently working on harmonisation and standardisation of regulations for a uniform regulatory environment. The commission has an independent Shariah Advisory Board to review product development and adjudicate on Shariah matters.

In #Pakistan the Ministry of Finance stated that amendments in legal framework are under review to strengthen the framework of taxation proposals for Islamic Banking. The initiatives mainly include review of Mudaraba guidelines to align those with overall regulatory framework of Islamic Finance, issuance of Sukuk guidelines, issuance of Takaful rules and government Ijara Sukuk. A multi-tiered Shariah supervisory and compliance framework has been put in place. Also, a Shariah governance framework for Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) was formulated, which explicitly defines Shariah related rules and responsibilities of all key organs of IBIs. The initial Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) for an Islamic Banking subsidiary was revised from Rs 10 billion to Rs 6 billion.

The Steering Committee of Sitara Chemicals received laudation for the promotion of Islamic Banking in #Pakistan. The Committee was headed by Mr Saeed Ahmed, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan. Sitara Chemicals has shared with Islamic debt investors its profits without comprising on true Musharakah principles. This fact is evident from the level of rate of return offered by the Company on its earlier Islamic debt issues. In 2012 Sitara Chemicals signed an agreement for design and procurement of Coal Based Power Plant having Capacity of 38.5 MW. Total Project cost was estimated at Rs 3.1 billion and Diminishing Musharika Facility Rs 2 billion from syndication of renowned Islamic Banks of Pakistan. In July 2016, this project has been commissioned and trial production has started. First instalment of this facility has been repaid as per its planned schedule.

In #Pakistan Faisal Private Bureau (FPB) has transferred its entire shareholding in Faysal Bank Limited (FYBL) to Ithmaar Bank. On June 30 FPB has transferred over 38.686 million of its stakes in Faisal Bank into Ithmaar's CDC account. However, FYBL secretary Aurangzeb Amin said the transaction had no affect in terms of change of ownership. He also added that the State Bank of Pakistan had already granted its approval for transfer of shares to Ithmaar Bank on April 29, 2016.

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has felicitated Wapda and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the Rs 100 billion agreement of 16 banks under Shariah compliant facility for Neelum Jehlum Hydro Power (NJHP) project. There was a long delay and the cost of project escalated up to Rs 414 billion from initial estimates Rs 84 billion. PIAF chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that now a ray of hope appeared for the completion of the project. He said this is the biggest ever funds mobilisation for a public sector entity in which 16 local banks participated. The issuance of Sukuk worth Rs 100 billion for NJHP would go a long way in arranging funds for other hydropower projects.

Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company (Pvt) Limited has entered into a financing agreement amounting to Rs 100 bn with a consortium of 16 banks led by National Bank of Pakistan for raising funds through one of the largest Shariah-compliant facility. The financing is based on Diminishing Musharika structured by NBP Aitemaad. The Sukuk is structured with a tenor of 10 years and is backed by the sovereign guarantee from Government of Pakistan.

NJHPC mandated National Bank of Pakistan to act as Mandated Lead Arranger for arrangement of up to Rs 100 billion through issuance of rated, secured and privately placed Sukuks to partially finance the construction of strategically important 969 MW hydel power project located in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir. For this financing, a signing ceremony was held on Wednesday here and attended by President & CEO NBP Syed Iqbal Ashraf, Chairman Wapda Zafar Mahmood, member finance Wapda Anwaar ul Haq, CEO NJHPCL Lieutenant General Muhammad Zubair and other presidents and senior officials of all the 16 participating financial institutions.

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 Islamic finance industry is still searching for a stance on to what extent conventional international law should be accepted in arbitration cases. Conservative scholars argue that non-Muslim courts should not be written into contracts as a reference for arbitrations. Islamic scholar Sheikh Saleh Abdulla al-Haidan said contracts, in which both parties agree that British law should be reference for the contract and therefore any arbitrations, violates Islamic law. According to the scholars contract parties should include arbitration centres compliant with sharia law as reference in contracts.

Maybank Islamic, Asia Pacific's largest sharia bank, is not currently seeking a strategic partner, its acting chief said after earlier talk that it would merge with the country's second Islamic bank. Acting CEO Ibrahim Hassan said Maybank Islamic is only interested in partnerships for specific business products such as the joint issue of credit cards. Malaysian financial group BIMB Holdings also denied that it was in talks to merge its sharia banking subsidiary Bank Islam with Maybank Islamic.