I’ve put together some of the predications made around this time last year, and cross checked the actual results which makes for fun watching. I focus on companies or investments which are considered investable as Islamic Equities forming part of Islamic Indexes, Islamic Investment Funds or would be classified as such based on a qualitative assessment. »

Sukuk are financing infrastructure projects across Africa and contributing to socially useful ventures across the continent. Issued in local currencies sukuk are being used to fund infrastructure projects. A 2017 issuance for N100bn was heavily oversubscribed. The Federal Government of Nigeria has issued a number of sukuk, the proceeds of which have funded 28 road projects across Nigeria. Hassan U... »

Islamic Finance Instruments Can Replace US Dollar in Trade US weaponization of the US Dollar and the international payment system of SWIFT has led to a push to look for alternatives as trust wanes in the green-back and its payment systems. In response, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed the use of islamic finance “trade in national currencies has gained urgency. We should first of a... »

US$ 1 Trillion of Sukuk since 1996 Since the issuance of the first modern sukuk in 1996 cumulative issuance of sukuk has crossed the US$ 1 trillion mark. As of the end of 2018, outstanding sukuk were valued at US$ 469.7 billion across 2,887 sukuk. Sukuk issuances during the year reached US$ 124.8 billion, a similar level to the previous year. Saudi Arabia and Malaysia Largest Issuers The Saudi and... »

Video from The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (“ICD”) presenting the structure of Murabah/Wakala as used in Line of Finance.   »

Global Ethical Fund Australia’s Hejaz Financial Services intends to launch a Global Ethical Fund, its first fund offering retail investors exposure to Australian equities, international equities, REITs, Sukuk, gold and Islamic term deposits in a Shariah compliant manner. In doing so, it will join Crescent Wealth and First Guardian in providing an Islamic retirement fund to the Australian market. T... »

IMF Highlights Islamic Finance Instrument Development in UAE The IMF has highlighted the development of Islamic finance instruments in the UAE, stating the UAE is a major hub for Sukuk issuances. During 2001–15, $53.8 billion or 36 percent of all global sukuk issuances originated in the UAE. Report highlights are presented below. UAE Banking System Challenges The UAE has come a long way in the dev... »

Fintech and Islamic Crowdfunding The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in its annual Islamic financial services industry stability report highlighted developments in the Islamic Finance Fintech space, in particular the Sharī’ah compatibility and application to Islamic finance, financial inclusion and regulatory issues. Many of the Sharīʻah questions raised in the following are not based on c... »

Empowerment to access Markets, Technology, Education 21 July 2017 – The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) held a wonderful event at the United Nations headquarters in New York titled “From Financing to Empowerment – Islamic Finance as an Enabler in Eradicating Poverty” on 14 July. A video of the event is provided below by UN Web TV. T... »