IFN OnAir

Carbon offsets are going through a confidence crisis, but APICORP's managing director of corporate banking, Nicolas Thevenot, tells Vineeta Tan that he believes the asset class is here to stay, and Islamic finance will play an important role in this growth story. 

Dunya Bashiti, the co-found and CEO of Capifly, talks to IFN's Nessreen Tamano about offering Islamic non-dilutive capital to tech start-ups in Jordan and plans to expand into the MENA region, starting with Saudi Arabia.

Malaysian infrastructure conglomerate YTL Corporation has been on Bursa Malaysia’s industry working group for the development of the Bursa Carbon Exchange since 2020. It is also an active carbon credit project developer in Southeast Asia.  Marlena Kareem from ISFI speaks with Ralph Dixon, the executive director of sustainability at YTL and CEO of YTL-SV Carbon, about the development of the Malaysi...

Malaysia is touted to be a leader in driving the Islamic sustainable finance agenda by its global peers. But has the country fully capitalized on its potential, and how can it harness these opportunities? Vineeta Tan speaks to Sharifatul Hanizah Said Ali, the head of Islamic capital market development at the Securities Commission Malaysia, to find out.  

Description: Saudia Arabia’s Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) will facilitate the first-ever Islamic finance transaction with carbon credits as underlying assets this year, according to Riham ElGizy, CEO of the RVCMC. ISFI speaks to the RVCMC CEO to learn about the upcoming deal and the launch of the RVCMC exchange early next year. 

Saudi-based BLOMINVEST BANK has launched the GBP300 million (US$384.09 million) SAED Green UK Fund as its debut endeavor in the UK market. ISFI speaks to Abdullah Alrashoud, CEO and managing director of BLOMINVEST BANK, to learn more about the fund. 

Gatehouse Bank is looking to launch an additional financing product to existing customers to improve the energy efficiency of their homes this year. ISFI speaks to Andy Homer, the chief customer officer at Gatehouse Bank, to learn about how it works with its partners to develop Islamic sustainable products. 

Ficus Capital is targeting to close its inaugural Islamic Southeast Asian Tech Fund in the third quarter of this year. ISFI speaks to Rina Neoh, the managing partner of Ficus Capital, to learn about some of the challenges of managing an inaugural fund as well as how the venture capital firm has shifted its focus toward sustainability.

With escalating geopolitical tension weighing on the global economy, the banking and finance system is under immense pressure. Vineeta Tan speaks to Moody’s Investors Service’s analysts – Alexander Perjessy, Ashraf Madani and Mohammed Ali Londe to understand the implications on the Islamic finance industry.

In this episode, Vineeta Tan speaks to Mohammed Alim, CEO of IBF Net, which built the first Halal metaverse, to understand what the Halal virtual world is all about.  

Turkiye’s largest beet growers cooperative brand Kayseri Seker issued a TRY85 million (US$4.44 million) Sukuk in February 2022.  The facility was the first Sukuk to use a quota of crystal sugar as an underlying asset and was also the first Sukuk issued by a cooperative in Turkiye.  ISFI speaks to Dr Menevse Ozdemir Diliduzgun, the head of corporate finance and advisory at Halk Investment, and Ozgu...

In a conversation with IFN Managing Editor Vineeta Tan, global finance pundit Andrew Sheng expounds on the ways we could move toward a more equitable and sustainable future including by investing in social enterprises and exploring Shariah compliant equity-based financial models as the current debt-based system is not sustainable. 

Dr Aishath Muneeza, who was personally involved in structuring all the corporate Sukuk offered in the Maldives as well as the private sukuk and Islamic treasury instruments for the government of Maldives, talks to IFN's Emir Zainul about the challenges of issuing Sukuk in the Maldives, as she highlights the lack of awareness and legal constraints in the Islamic finance industry in the country...

S Zuhair Naqvi, the founder and CEO of Halal mortgage business EQRAZ, talks to IFN's Nessreen Tamano about what he would like to see more of in the Canadian Islamic finance industry in the near future, including more awareness and knowledge on Shariah products by both industry players and customers, and re-building the Muslim community's trust in the Halal home financing sector.

There is increasing pressure on banks to adopt effective climate risk management practices. Vineeta Tan speaks with Madelena Mohamed, the director of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s Sustainability Unit, to understand how financial institutions in Malaysia are to approach climate risks, within the context of BNM's new Climate Risk Management and Scenario Analysis policy document.  

With the upcoming COP28 to be held in a Muslim jurisdiction for the second year in a row, the spotlight is very much on the Islamic finance industry on how it can contribute to the global decarbonization efforts. ISFI speaks to Joe Clinton and Afsha Karim from Allen & Overy about some of the legal challenges Islamic financial institutions face in the green financing space.

In this episode, Vineeta Tan speaks to the co-founders of German Islamic fintech start-up INAIA, Bilgehan Akbiyik and Emre Akyel, to understand how COVID-19 has altered the fledgling Shariah finance landscape in Germany, and how digitalization is playing a vital role in tapping this market.

Shahruladeri Mohamad Adnan, CEO of CIB Capital and formerly the director of business development at the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, shares insights on Labuan’s Islamic finance industry, particularly the Sukuk market, in this episode of IFN Podcast, with news editor Nessreen Tamano.

ISFI speaks to Rizwan Hussein, CEO and managing director of Salaam Takaful, about the challenges of offering crop Takaful coverage as well as its plans for 2023.

Opportunity knocks: the dazzling global prospects for Islamic sustainable finance and investment. Important considerations in the development of efficacious Islamic sustainable investment products. Understanding the structure and benefits of transition, sustainable and sustainability-linked investment products. Managing important sustainable investment regulatory, reporting and disclosure requirem...

Inflation, a rising interest rate environment and the implications for potential issuers of Islamic capital market products. What do these factors also mean for the outlook of the global Shariah compliant investment community? Evolving Shariah compliant fund and collective investment schemes; ETFs, Sukuk, leasing and trade finance funds. The outlook for Shariah compliant direct real estate investm...

The digitalization of Islamic financial services: what is working, what is viable and what is not? What do the answers to these questions mean for the evolution of Islamic financial services in Saudi Arabia? Does digitalization allow us to better address issues such as product authenticity and the minimization of uncertainty? Is the success of neobanks inevitable, and how will they change the mark...

Nick Heuzenroeder, CEO of Haven Wealth, talks about the Australian Islamic investment landscape and Takaful market, as well as his company’s plan to launch a Sukuk fund and an Islamic insurance product this year, in this episode of IFN Podcast with news editor Nessreen Tamano.

Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim , Member of Parliament, Singapore

With the emergence of the first Shariah compliant balanced fund in Singapore to use quant investing technology and ESG screening in Singapore, what is the potential for the development of further such collective investment products in the republic? What opportunities does MAS’s Green & Sustainability Linked Loan Grant Scheme offer corporates moving towards sustainable practices, and does Islam...