Following AAOIFI Shariah standards might have been a ‘nice-to-have’ in the past, but today, they have become a necessity. Much has been written so far about Shariah Standard 59. For me, this is not new as I have experienced two other similar cornerstone events in the past. The following is how I
Read MoreNegative Real Rates Have Reached the Shores of Many Countries Across the Globe. Our Islamic finance industry is not immune. The question is, how many sovereigns have issued local denominated Sukuk for which the yield has been strongly negative throughout 2021? It is interesting that not much is there about
Read MoreSukuk and conventional financing share the same features that could make them vulnerable to global factors. One thing to note is that international investors should consider economic fundamentals over the headline risks that come from the Middle East. In our region (Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)), active portfolio managers, who are
Read MoreBefore issuers tap the global fixed market, lead arrangers would have been selected first as they will play a vital role in marketing the debt instruments. Some regional GCC banks would be able to underwrite deals (notably the UAE and Saudi financial institutions), while other GCC banks may face some
Read MoreEvery now and then, I receive academic enquires or a request for career advice from Islamic finance students. I always keep wondering who will make the cut and join our industry. This is the sad story of how the Islamic finance industry is losing its young prospective foot soldiers. I
Read MoreOne of the pillars of within Islamic and conventional debt capital markets’ ecosystem is insurance and guarantee related products. Setting up an Islamic guarantee for debt instrument can become a catalyst to stimulate growth as well as enabling corporates to access the market at better borrowing rates. To make economic
Read MoreThe concept of utilizing sukuk proceeds for the empowerment of working-women is new to this niche industry and it is yet to be adopted. This noble goal will need the support of beyond Islamic finance stakeholders and investors in order to thrive as there are many challenges ahead of its
Read MoreProspective new sovereign/corporate issuers (in the emerging & frontier markets) often tumbled into unchartered territory with debut sukuk issuance, especially if that jurisdiction of an issuer has never issued an Islamic debt instruments before. There is no easy crash course that can summarize what these prospective issuers can expect as
Read MoreOne of the most known misconception among prospective issuers (in the emerging & frontier markets) that sukuk pricing differs from bonds. Well, it is not! Debt Capital Market Bankers use the same conventional wisdom for pricing of bonds. Knowing the indicative pricing is the most decisive factor for reluctant issuers
Read MoreAfter 7 years of my encounter with Goldman Sachs sukuk, I reveal for the first time my narrative side of the story in this documentary **Based on facts** https://youtu.be/KYuVGRmvANc On 19 of Oct,2011, Goldman Sachs received regulatory approval to list its controversial $2 billion sukuk. On the 7th year anniversary
Read MoreFor unknown reasons, Saudi issuers have over-relied on the floating rate when it comes to pricing riyal denominated Islamic bonds (sukuk). We are not taking about short-term tenor here, rather medium-term. It is a unique feature that differentiates its local debt capital market from any part of the world. I
Read MoreBack in early April 2018, Saudi Arabia’s securities regulator announced that it had approved the listing of local currency government sukuk and bonds on the Saudi Stock Exchange. By October 2018, the total size of listed of Riyal-denominated government debt stood at more than the equivalent of $66 billion in
Read MoreInformation package. (french,english, arabic) https://www.academia.edu/8647976/Senegal_Sukuk_Africas_first_sovereign_sukuk_to_the_international_capital_market
Read MoreICD Reprises its role by assisting another West African State to issue a Sovereign Sukuk to the International Market (french,english, arabic) https://www.academia.edu/22670008/ICD_supports_Ivory_Coast_to_successfully_Issue_the_largest_West_African_Sovereign_Sukuk_Developing_Regional_Debt_Market_in_Africa_INFORMATION_PACKAGE_
Read More