IFN OnAir

The Securities Commission Malaysia launched the Sustainable and Responsible Investment linked Sukuk Framework on the 30th June 2022 as an extension of its initiatives under the SRI Roadmap to facilitate fundraising by companies in addressing sustainability concerns. We are joined by Sharifatul Hanizah Said Ali, the executive director of Islamic capital market development at the SC, to learn more a...

There are many opportunities to build better tools to support the Islamic investor in their personal finance journay, says Saad Malik, the CEO and co-founder of Halal stock screening app Zoya, in this week’s episode of IFN Podcast, with news editor Nessreen Tamano.

CIMB Islamic Bank recently entered into a RM1 billion (US$224.74 million) sustainable collateralized commodity Murabahah (CCM) transaction with Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia. We spoke to Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, CEO of CIMB Islamic, on the back of this landmark deal to understand its structure and significance. 

With soaring inflation compelling the government to raise interest rates, yet unemployment at historic lows, Australia finds itself in a rather unique predicament. Vineeta Tan speaks to Muzzammil Dhedhy, the COO of Hejaz Financial Services, to find out how such macroeconomic conditions are impacting Islamic financial activities in Australia.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) launched the QFC Sustainable Sukuk and Bonds Framework in March 2022. The framework is part of the financial center’s efforts to develop Qatar’s debt capital market, which seeks to emulate the success of the Malaysian capital market. We speak to Aymane Doukali, the head of Islamic and structured finance at QFC, about how the framework will impact sustainable issuan...

General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) launched its Sustainability Guide for Islamic Financial Institutions on the 12th May 2022, following the issuance of its corresponding consultative document in March.  In this episode, we speak to Dr Abdelilah Belatik, the secretary general at CIBAFI, about how the sustainability guide will impact Islamic financial institutions....

There have been some significant developments recently in the Tanzanian Islamic finance industry, particularly in the Sukuk and Takaful sectors, which Salum Awadh, CEO of SSC Capital, discusses with IFN’s Nessreen Tamano in this week’s episode of the IFN Podcast. 

The future looks good for Indonesia's Islamic finance and banking industry, given the support it has been receiving from the government. Things are also looking up for Bank Muamalat Indonesia following a restructuring exercise, as Achmad Kusna Permana, CEO of the bank, discusses with IFN's Nessreen Tamano in this episode.

The first-ever green Sukuk facility to come out of Turkey was issued by state-owned Emlak Participation Bank in late 2021, and the bank is now preparing to issue another one in two months. Esma Karabulut, the head of investment banking and investor relations at Emlak Participation Bank, talks to IFN’s Nessreen Tamano about the nascent green Sukuk market in Turkey in this episode of the IFN Podcast...

We are seeing mixed projections for the different sectors of the global Islamic finance industry. For example: A strong growth momentum for Shariah compliant banking assets, resilience within the Islamic insurance and Shariah funds sectors, and weaker Sukuk volumes. In this episode, Ashraf Madani, a vice-president at Moody’s Investors Service, navigates the Islamic banking and finance offering a c...

When robo-advisors started becoming a reality in the investment space, many pundits hailed them as a disruptor of traditional financial services, but have they actually 'disrupted' the industry in the Middle East where analysts say has only captured a fraction of its digital potential? In this episode, Vineeta Tan speaks to Omar Shaikh, the founder and CEO of Cocoa Invest, an Islamic rob...

Digital investment management or robo-advisory is growing phenomenally in the US – but what is the reality like with Islamic robo-advisors? In this episode, IFN Managing Editor Vineeta Tan speaks to the founder and CEO of US-based Aghaz Investments, Khurram Agha, to get a picture of the Shariah compliant robo-advisory market in the US to understand the gaps and prospects.  

The Nigerian Sukuk landscape has a busy year ahead, as regulators tighten up guidelines for issuances and both the government and the private sector turn to the Islamic debt capital market for its financing needs. Dr Akeem Oyewale, CEO of Marble Capital, talks to IFN's Nessreen Tamano about what we can expect in 2022 from Nigeria in this episode of the IFN Podcast.

We often use the terms ethical finance and Islamic finance interchangeably. But there are meaningful differences between Shariah compliant finance and the wider sustainability concepts, which also translates into performance differences. In this episode, we speak to Michael Orzano, the senior director of global equity indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, to understand these distinctions and explo...

How does one miniaturize the Islamic economy? One tech company is attempting to do that. IBF Net Group, which has a presence in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Dublin is on a mission to leverage technology to create a Halal ecosystem with a focus on Islamic social finance. In this episode, we speak to CEO-designate Mohammed Alim to find out more about the blockchain projects the group has rolled out a...

Islamic sustainable finance is a very compelling proposition. But while it looks good on paper, it is harder to materialize in reality. In this episode, we speak to Dr Scott Levy, the CEO of Bedford Row Capital, and Professor Kevin Haines, Bedford Row Capital’s head of social policy, to understand if there is a hesitancy among Islamic issuers to enter the sustainable finance space and how we can o...

Khurram Hilal, Standard Chartered Bank’s CEO of global Islamic banking, describes Islamic and sustainable finance as a match made in heaven. In this episode, Khurram walks us through why he thinks this sector is ripe for the picking and share with us Standard Chartered’s Islamic sustainable finance strategy.

Sustainable finance is touted as the future of the Islamic finance industry. But how has the asset class fared so far? What innovation are we seeing in this space? Which markets are leading? In this episode, we speak to Bashar Al Natoor, the global head of Islamic finance at Fitch Ratings to canvas the global Islamic sustainable finance landscape

Compliance has a cost – and this also true in the case of Islamic sustainable finance. In this episode, we speak to Farmida Bi, the chair for Europe, Middle East and Asia at international legal firm Norton Rose Fulbright and the firm’s European Islamic finance head, to understand the regulatory landscape for Islamic sustainable finance.

We speak to Jennifer Schwalbenberg, chief governance office of DDCAP Group, a market-leading Islamic intermediary firm which has positioned sustainable and ethical finances its driving force. Jennifer elaborates how the UN PRI Signatory is tackling the Islamic sustainability agenda, which could be an example for other market players.

Sustainable and green Sukuk are the poster child of the Islamic ESG sector. But what are the factors an issuer needs to consider before tapping this asset class? In this episode, we speak to Chung Chee Leong, the CEO of Cagamas, the National Mortgage Corporation of Malaysia. Cagamas is the country’s largest debt issuer, which has also issued Sustainable Sukuk, to explore what issuers can learn fro...

Craig Reeves, the founder of Prestige Funds, talks to IFN's Nessreen Tamano about the hunt for yield in the sustainable Islamic investment space, as well as the overlap between Shariah compliant and sustainable asset management, in this episode of the IFN Podcast.

In this episode, Shakeel Adli, a partner and the global head of Islamic finance at CMS, provides his analysis on the global real estate market which, while it has been impacted by the global health crisis, has performed considerably well as Islamic investors grow in sophistication.