IFN OnAir

Ahmed Kareem El Kenzi , Director, BTD International Fund House – Luxembourg

Takaful Oman’s CEO Neelmani Bhardwaj shares insights into the burgeoning Islamic insurance sector of the Sultanate, as well as Takaful Oman’s expansion plans in the short and medium term, with IFN’s Nessreen Tamano in this podcast episode.

In this IFN Podcast episode, Munirah Khairuddin, the country head and CEO of Principal Asset Management Malaysia speaks to Nessreen Tamano of IFN about the rising popularity and impact of digital investing, especially in the context of Shariah compliant finance, in Malaysia and around the world.

Estate planning is a major challenge in Malaysia, with the upper bound of frozen assets estimated at RM90 billion (US$19.36 billion). In this episode of the podcast, Marlena Kareem, the editor of ISFI, speaks to Ariffin Sabirin, the founder of Wasiyyah Shoppe, and Khairul Nisa Ismail, CEO of Sedania As Salam Capital, about how they are collaborating to address the Muslim estate planning challenge...

The mainstreaming of digital lending has overhauled the risk landscape for banks and financial institutions. How should the finance industry adapt? In this episode, Vineeta Tan speaks to Guru Raghavendran, the senior vice-president of banking practice at Azentio Software, to explore this topic.

Carbon credits are positioned as a potential avenue to alleviate some of the global climate pressures emanating from carbon emissions. But they are not without critics. Are they a viable asset class and how can we best optimize carbon credits and offsets? My name is Vineeta Tan, the managing editor of IFN. To understand this, in this episode, Vineeta Tan speaks to Professor Lisa Wilson, the managi...

Air Selangor issued its largest SRI Sukuk to date in October 2023. In this episode, Marlena Kereem, the editor of Islamic Sustainable Finance and Investment, sits down with Kevin Lee Shih-Min, the head of finance and strategy at Air Selangor, to talk about this landmark issuance and its SRI Sukuk strategy moving forward. 

There is a noticeable shift from traditional bank financing toward alternative financing across multiple asset classes in the GCC and beyond, which is resulting in the rise of instruments such as venture debt funds. In this episode, brought to you by King and Spalding, Asal Saghari and Mike Rainey explore this trend, bringing us expert insights and analyses to help us understand this shift and how...

There are areas of opportunities in the Islamic private equity and venture capital space, particularly in the GCC and Southeast Asian regions, where Lim Say Cheong, the CEO of Saudi Venture Capital Investment Company, has focused on in the last decade. He shares his insights with IFN in this episode with Nessreen Tamano.

reNIKOLA Solar II issued the world's first Climate Bonds Initiative-certified Sukuk in September this year. Marlena Kareem, the editor of ISFI, speaks to Khong Ho Ming, the executive director and COO of reNIKOLA, about this landmark issuance.

The Islamic insurtech sector in Malaysia is still relatively small, but CEO of Ouch!, Shazy Noorazman, believes that more players will emerge as the digital Takaful opportunity is hard to ignore. Shazy discusses the prospects and pain points of the industry in this episode with Vineeta Tan. 

Ratings play a significant role in the voluntary carbon market space.  Marlena Kareem, the editor of ISFI, speaks to Ronan Carr, the chief research officer at BeZero Carbon, about the role of ratings in the carbon market, its recent issuance of the world’s first pre-issuance rating for a carbon project as well as the mispricing of carbon credits.

Interviewee: Azman Mokhtar , Chairman, Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre Leadership Council Interviewer: Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin , Former Deputy Chief Executive, Securities Commission Malaysia

Do currently available taxonomies adequately address sector-specific transition concerns and what are salient additions to later versions? Assessing disclosure requirements and developing an effective climate change curriculum for financial institutions How are governments and exchanges enabling the trading of carbon credits, and what are the objectives and benefits of such initiatives? Defining t...

What is driving the shift toward transition and sustainability-linked bonds and Sukuk issuance, and how do we maintain this momentum? What options do the deployment of sustainability-linked financing structures offer issuers, and are they properly understood? How do we better identify viable underlying assets for transition and sustainability-linked issuance, while also verifying the actual uses o...

What steps are necessary to ensure Islamic sustainable investors are offered a common definition of climate risk standards in ASEAN? What is driving innovation of Islamic sustainable and social finance and investment products, and are we successfully creating products which satisfy both Shariah and ESG requirements? How do systematic tilts in portfolio allocation resulting from Shariah screens inf...

Marlena Kareem , Editor, Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment, REDmoney Group

What does a successful strategic roadmap for advancing transition look like? Are current policies and actions sufficiently aligned with climate risk? Are the various climate taxonomies conflicting or complementary, and how do we offer a clear and consistent message? Are tax and operational cost incentives for companies and issuers sufficient, and are current regulatory frameworks encouraging produ...

UK-headquartered Autarky Sukuk's latest offering serves investors looking for a Shariah compliant investment based on real estate in the UK. Co-founders Shoaib Bux and Yasin Patel speak to IFN's Nessreen Tamano about the challenges and opportunities in the market.

Keynote Address Dr Awang Adek Hussin , Executive Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia

Malaysia’s top-down and ‘Islamic first’ strategy has been highly successful as Islamic financial services continue to flourish. What strategies at a governmental, regulatory and institutional level will maintain this success? Does the Islamic financial services sector face a structural imbalance, and how does this impact Islamic financial institutions? What do digital transformation strategies mea...

How will the design, development and distribution of digital Islamic financial services continue to evolve in the near term? How significant is continued transformation among the traditional providers of Islamic financial products? How important are financial regulators in creating an environment for the enhancement of the financial services sector’s digital infrastructure? How is the development...

How does Malaysia fully leverage on its reputation as an international center for innovative Shariah compliant transactions and structured finance products? What is the potential for Islamic syndicated finance — distribution and the development of regional secondary markets? Do additional Tier 1 Sukuk still offer Islamic financial institutions the most flexible and efficient way of satisfying regu...

Does Malaysia still enjoy a competitive advantage in the facilitation of ethically and socially responsible investment management? What strategic steps should be taken to grow Shariah compliant assets under management domestically? How do we assess the growing influence and potential offered by Waqf-featured funds such as REITs and ETFs? What is the continuing role of technology in the development...

With significant growth being seen in new and alternative funding activities, Malaysia has an opportunity to create a competitive advantage. What does enhanced access for new Shariah compliant P2P and ECF operators and solutions mean for the digital finance marketplace, and what opportunities are available to retail investors? What sectors are prime beneficiaries for such investment and how do we...