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QIIB has launched a card for domestic workers, which provides flexible and easy solutions for both workers and employers, and complies with the standards required and set by various government agencies. The employer can transfer the salary of the domestic worker directly to the card via QIIB mobile banking application or Internet banking. The card is also a secure and certified record of all monthly salary payments for domestic workers, and can be used in all ATMs and points of sale. The cardholder can also use it to pay for utility bills, make online purchases and transfer money to their home country.

The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) successfully conducted an auction for a total issuance of $1.06bn short-term A-1 rated Sukuk in three series. The three series have been priced by the market as follows: USD400m of 1-month tenor at 0.33%; USD460m of 3-month tenor at 0.45%; and USD 200m of 7-month tenor at 0,58%, respectively. The tender resulted in significant demand from Middle Eastern, Asian and African investors, with an orderbook that closed in excess of USD1.72bn. ILM is an international organisation established by various central banks to develop and issue short-term Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments. The current members of the IILM Governing Board are the central banks and monetary agencies of Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Turkey, the UAE, as well as the multilateral Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.

Islamic banks and investors from the Middle East have been urged to expand their operations into the Philippines which is currently seeing a growing halal industry. Speaking at the webinar ‘Islamic Finance as Vehicle to Economic Recovery’, Philippine Central Bank Managing Director Atty Arifa Ala highlighted the potential of the Islamic finance industry in her country. She also invited foreign Islamic banks and investors, especially from the Middle East to expand their operations in the Philippines. Ala highlighted the new law Republic Act No.11439 or ‘An Act Providing for the Regulation and Organization of Islamic Banks’. She reiterated that the new law was created as an expanded Islamic banking system that involves tax neutrality, stronger risk management, ethical financial stability, further establishment of Islamic banks and other Islamic financial activities.

According to S&P Global Ratings, global sukuk issuance increased by 25.6% in 2019 compared with 2018. Foreign currency issuance also increased by almost 20.8% during the year, explained primarily by activity in Turkey, and also issuance by Qatari banks and Malaysian corporates. S&P anticipates a total sukuk issuance of $160bn-$170bn this year, including $40bn-$45bn of foreign currency issuance. This represents about 5% growth on the $162bn seen in 2019. S&P believes that the green sukuk market will continue to expand, aided by opportunities related to energy mix diversification in the GCC/Malaysia and investor diversification.

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is preparing to establish a centralised Sharia’h supervisory in Sharia’h governance. Currently, the Sharia’h governance structure of Islamic banks is mostly decentralised. Individual banks have their own Shaira’h Supervisory Boards to oversee their operations and ensure their compliance with the Islamic principles. The establishment of a centralised Sharia’h supervisory body will help achieve greater market-wide consistency and credibility. Qatar’s Islamic banks have registered a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 10.3% since the segregation of Islamic business from the conventional banks back in 2012. Conventional banks lag behind at 9.8% annualized growth during the same period.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) announced the launch of its affordable Takaful product for low-income workers called "Family Sheild - WPS". This low cost Takaful product can also be purchased by companies who want to give additional protection to their employees. The plan can be purchased by contributing QR10 per month or QR120 per annum and provides a cover of QR50,000 for death and QR100,000 in case of death due to accident. D. Anand, General Manager of Personal Banking Group at QIB, said the Family Shield WPS Takaful plan was designed for expatriate workers and can be easily purchased instanty over the counter without any medical tests. He added that QIB was well aware of the worker’s concern for their family’s well being in case of unseen events and wanted to provide them with an affordable and useful Takaful solution.

The net income of listed companies in the GCC Islamic insurance sector has nearly halved in 2017 to $375m, from $674m in 2016. The decline in 2017 net income was mainly driven by weaker results in the Saudi Arabian insurance sector. S&P Global Ratings believes that medium-term growth prospects in the sector remain satisfactory given relatively low penetration levels. It expects Islamic insurance to remain profitable overall in 2018. The ratings agency also observes strengthening capital levels. The Islamic insurance industry in GCC countries outside Saudi Arabia recorded an increase in net income by about 832% to $82m in 2017 from$9m in 2016. Also, there was an increase of more than 60% in first-quarter 2018 compared with the same period last year. This improvement was mainly driven by better results in the UAE.

Qatar's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs organized a forum on waqf where participants called for the advancement of the waqf to regain its role in the Islamic economy. Qatar has made great steps in the advancement of the waqf, starting with the enactment of the laws regulating it, and taking all measures to ensure the governance and transparency of waqf operations. The four-day forum discussed current vital issues including the responsibility of scholars, the renewal of Islamic jurisprudence, the reform of religious education, and the Islamic waqf and its role in development.

Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) is waiting for the right time to issue its $500m sukuk in the international market. QIIB CEO Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei said that QIIB is currently weighing market conditions before the issuance of the 5-year sukuk. QIIB is not in a hurry to hit the market, as it does not face any kind of liquidity issues. The lead arrangers of the QIIB issuance will be QNB, Standard Chartered and some Malaysian Banks. The tenor would be 5 years. QIIB issued its first sukuk in 2012 for $700 and it matured in October 2017. The bank’s $2bn Trust Certificate Issuance programme has already been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) and is being admitted to the official list of the FCA and the London Stock Exchange. The Programme has been assigned a provisional rating of A2 by Moody’s Investors Service Cyprus.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has signed an agreement with the youth organization INJAZ Qatar to sponsor a three-year financial literacy programme for selected high schools and universities in Qatar. The agreement was signed by Bassel Gamal, QIB Group CEO and Emad Al Khaja, INJAZ Qatar CEO. The new "Personal Finance Program" is a five-week training with interactive sessions tailored specifically for high school students and university freshmen. The programme explores ways to earn money and spend it wisely by budgeting, saving, and investing. Courses include the cautious use of credit cards, and protecting your personal finances. Emad Al Khaja said the course was in line with local cultural requirements, as Islamic banking principles are incorporated into the programme.

According to S&P Global Ratings, the GCC Islamic banks’ financing growth will reach 4-5% in 2018-19, supported by strategic initiatives by the regional governments. Powered by Qatar FIFA World Cup, Dubai Expo 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030, and higher government spending in Kuwait led by Kuwait 2035 Vision, the region’s Islamic banks will continue to expand. Asset growth should remain in the low single digits due to slow economic growth, unless oil prices rebound significantly. However, Islamic banks’ cost of risk will increase due to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 and Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) 30. While the volume of sukuk issuance increased in 2017 thanks to jumbo issuances by some GCC countries, issuance volume is currently uncertain for 2018.

QIIB plans to raise between $300m-$500m via Sukuk this year. CEO Dr Abdul Basit Ahmed Al Sheibi said the bank got shareholders' approval and will hold roadshows in selected Asian and European markets next month. QIIB’s $2bn Trust Certificate Issuance programme has already been approved by the the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is being admitted to the official list of the FCA and the London Stock Exchange. The Programme has been assigned a provisional rating of A2 by Moody’s Investors Service Cyprus.

Qatar’s second listed exchange traded fund (ETF), the Al Rayan Qatar ETF will begin trading tomorrow on Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE). Al Rayan Qatar ETF is the first Shariah-compliant exchange traded fund listed on QSE.
The ETF, issued by Masraf Al Rayan, will track the QE Al Rayan Islamic Index. The Fund will track the performances of 18 stock index of Sharia-compliant Qatari listed equities. Al Rayan Investment is the Fund Manager. HSBC Bank Middle East is the Investment Custodian. According to the prospectus issued by the Fund Manager, the Fund is structured as an open-ended vehicle with a maximum limit of issued capital of QR2bn. The base currency of the Fund is Qatari Riyal and the Fund will only invest in securities denominated in Qatari Riyal.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has launched an Investor Relations app for Android and iOS smartphones. The QIB IR App keeps the investors updated on the latest financial developments related to share prices, stock performance, bank news, financial results and key financial reports. It includes interactive financial screens enabling investors to see QIB’s historical share price and results while providing comparison with peers. As QIB’s investors are global, the app supports 17 languages and enables the display of share prices in different currencies as well. QIB cooperated with Euroland, a leading fintech company, to launch the app and update the information available on the website. All interested parties can download the QIB IR app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store and visit the Investor Relations (IR) section on QIB’s website.

Qatar's QINVEST announced its end of year results for 2017. Revenues from all business lines amounted to QR368.6m ($101.3m), resulting in operating profit of QR177.3m ($48.7m) and net profit of QR65.9m ($18.1m). The group’s global assets stood at QR4.45bn ($1.22bn) as of 31 December 2017. QINVEST has continued to enjoy a strong liquidity position of $120m as of December 2017. The company has also taken the decision to early adopt IFRS9 accounting standard, reducing future volatility from its reported results. The firm launched two income-generating Ijara funds in 2017 and both were oversubscribed. QINVEST will look to launch the third in the series of the Ijarah funds during 2018 to meet market demand.

The First Investor (TFI) Qatar, a subsidiary of Barwa Bank Group has acquired a new office building in Frankfurt. The asset is another unique blend to TFI Euro Income Fund, which was launched in 2017 with sharia compliant stature. Europe continues to provide excellent investment and business environments given low inflation and low interest rate regime. TFI is keen to pursue its investment strategy with the aim to help clients achieve their objectives in a very challenging business environment. By that, TFI will soon launch another UK Income Fund and a US Income Fund together with many investment opportunities during 2018.

Almost half of Qatar’s outstanding sukuk, worth of over QR25bn, will mature in 2018. With the ongoing growth of Shariah-compliant institutions, new issuances are vital. If no sukuk are issued in the country to replace the maturing ones, Shariah-compliant investors might look to other sukuk investments outside Qatar. According to the joint research of Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Thomson Reuters and Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), retail sukuk remains an untapped segment in most of the countries in GCC. Qatar can capitalise on selling sukuk to the retail market to promote both the primary and secondary capital market. Financial institutions have been leading corporate issuance in the GCCIn Qatar, Ezdan Holding Group is the only corporation outside financial institutions to issue sukuk. Ijarah continues to be the most popular sukuk structure in Qatar. However, Qatari corporate sukuk have all been issued based on wakalah structure, which has been gaining popularity in the recent years.

Qatar's Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs provided zakat to the needy families, the zakat totalled QR13,624,806 last December. The aid was distributed to the beneficiaries, including the permanent aid provided monthly and the irregular aid, which is related to specific needs and emergency conditions. The funds were distributed according to Shariah and after comprehensively researching each beneficiary case and undergoing a social and field research. The cases are then presented to specialised committees, who meet daily and assess the cases, guaranteeing the delivery of assistance to beneficiaries in need.

The fast-growing Islamic finance industry can play a significant role in closing the infrastructure gap through public-private partnerships (PPP). According to the World Bank, shari‘ah-compliant assets have grown exponentially in the past two decades, accumulating nearly $1.9 trillion in assets. The Gulf Cooperation Council has the largest share of shari‘ah-compliant assets, at 42% of the global total, followed by Middle East and North Africa with 30% and the rest of Asia at 22%. Islamic banking and Islamic deposits grew faster than their conventional equivalents in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey. Developing countries in Asia will need to invest $26 trillion from 2016 to 2030, or $1.7 trillion per year to eradicate poverty and respond to climate change. The infrastructure needs of Sub-Saharan Africa exceed $93bn annually. Islamic finance instruments like Istisna and Ijarah can be used for large, longer-term financing arrangements, such as financing for power projects, infrastructure and transport equipment.

The CEO of Al Rayan Bank, Sultan Choudhury, has received his Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Prince William. Choudhury was appointed OBE in the Birthday Honours of Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of his services to Islamic finance. Choudhury was part of the management team that obtained Western Europe’s first authorised Islamic banking licence in 2004. He has since grown the Bank to become the UK’s largest Islamic bank. Al Rayan Bank offers the largest Sharia compliant product range in the UK. The Bank currently has more than more than 80,000 customers throughout the UK, more than a quarter of which it estimates to be non-Muslim.