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... »
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... »
Despite slowdown, in USD terms size of market little changed The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in its annual Islamic financial services industry stability report highlighted continued slowdown of the global Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI). Despite this, the global IFSI has been able to sustain its total assets value at approximately USD1.9 trillion in 2016. 2016 – Anothe... »
Africa’s Growing Islamic Finance Footprint The use of Sukuk to fund Africa’s infrastructure needs as well as expanding Islamic Banking windows signal continued growth of African Islamic finance CIBAFI Discusses Islamic Financed African Infrastructure Funding Abdulilah Belatiq of the Bahrain based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) discussed CIBAFI’s initiatives i... »
Report by IMF highlights key challenges facing the Islamic Financial Industry. Islamic Banking (IB) has grown rapidly in value and geographical reach, and has become an important and integral part of the financial systems in many countries. Though IB accounts for less than 2 percent of global finance, IBs currently operate in more than 60 countries and the industry has become systemically importan... »
Increasing the Potential of Islamic Finance in Africa CNBC Africa discussed the growth potential of Islamic Finance in Africa. Samira Mensah, Associate Director for Financial Institutions Ratings at Standard and Poor’s and Ameen Hassen, Head of Shari’ah Banking at Standard Bank participated in a discussion which highlighted the growth space for Islamic finance in Africa. Demand within ... »
Nascent Industry Finds a Home in Dubai Alan Greenspan once described people to people contact as a key pillar to building commerce and creating economic activity. Taking the former Chairman of the Federal Reverse at his words, the gathering of individuals at the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2016 this week in Dubai would have done much to create the relationships and entrepreneurial spirit to take... »
Earnings of Islamic Insurers to Remain Weak Two recent reports from rating agencies highlighted the challenges facing the Takaful industry. S&P said in a report looking at the GCC region, earnings of Islamic insurers will remain relatively weak and unevenly distributed as their small size, short track records, and retail focus work against them. Most takaful players in the region are still rel... »
Retail Demand and Government Support is Helping Boost Growth Strong retail demand and proactive government support is assisting Islamic banks to grow at a faster pace when compared with their conventional peers. Khalid Howladar, Global Head of Islamic Finance at rating agency stated “Growth in the Islamic banking sector continues to broadly outpace that of conventional banks in most systems ... »
World Sharia Stock Market Centre Announcements from the stock exchanges of Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as the Channel Islands this week are welcome signals for the cross border development of the Islamic Capital markets. The World Sharia Stock Market Centre, to be developed by the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) and Bursa Malaysia aims to establish a global benchmark for Islamic capital market... »
