IFN OnAir

Agrarius Sustainability Engineered listed its inaugural Sukuk worth ZAR500 million (US$28.15 million) on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on the 28th October 2022. ISFI speaks to Fatima Vawda, the managing director of 27four Investment Managers, to learn about this issuance.

The UK's fintech scene is vibrant and has great potential to grow, while demand in the real estate sector from Islamic investors remains high, Managing Associate Lingxi Wang and Associate Leena Payyappilly tell IFN's Nessreen Tamano in this podcast episode.

How are the key features of Oman Vision 2040 enabling growth of the Islamic banking and finance markets in Oman? How have successful regulatory initiatives contributed to Oman’s Islamic banking sector constituting more than 15% of the total banking market share? Will the new domestic Islamic banking landscape ultimately lead to enhanced product offerings and customer experience? Considering recent...

With Islamic real estate finance well established in the Sultanate, what is the scope for complex project and asset financing in Oman via Shariah compliant structures? Do Islamic products effectively lend themselves to fund public-private partnerships for the development of infrastructure and large-scale projects? What role should Islamic banks and venture capital play in this important activity,...

Identifying and evaluating key governmental and private sector initiatives designed to modernize and digitally transform the national economy, with a focus on Islamic financial services and digital assets. What measures would assist domestic Islamic banks in the further development of Islamic digital and crypto retail, wealth management, Takaful and pension offerings in Oman? How are regulator-fos...

What does the transition to green and sustainable financing potentially mean for Omani issuers, and how will Islamic structures play a meaningful role in the shift? What opportunities are there for important domestic sectors such as aviation, oil and gas and other asset-heavy industries to adopt sustainable fundraising programs? What is the potential for private sector financing of green infrastru...

With notable consolidation in recent years, what is a realistic assessment of the current Qatari Islamic financial services ecosystem, including banking and Takaful, and what opportunities and challenges now present themselves for the sector? With Qatar emerging as a leading Islamic fintech centre, how significant is the work of the Qatar FinTech Hub’s acceleration and incubation programs, and wha...

Despite rising inflationary pressures and the threat of a global recession looming, Islamic funds and investment activities are picking up, according to Barry Cosgrave, a partner at legal firm Mayer Brown. Vineeta Tan speaks to Cosgrave to get a sense of how Islamic investors are behaving during this global downturn.    

In an open discussion, we ask an expert panel to consider and highlight key points, ideas and initiatives, and how these can be put into action to drive Islamic sustainable finance and investment forward. As industry, what should be our next steps, and how should we measure the impact of what we are trying to achieve? What would represent meaningful goals and tangible achievements for the sector?...

Chung Chee Leong, president/CEO of Cagamas, sits down with Vineeta Tan to discuss the national mortgage corporation's plan to support Malaysia’s sustainability ambitions as well as the critical role (Islamic) financial institutions play in driving the agenda forward.  

What are the global investment flows and trends that continue to influence the deployment of Shariah compliant capital in north America today? What are recent significant developments in north American Shariah compliant private equity, and can we identify potential targets for private equity investment in the US market? What are the latest opportunities and demands for Shariah compliant direct inv...

Malaysia has seen a surge of Islamic peer-to-peer (P2P) finance service providers in the last 12 months. One of the latest entrants is Funding Societies. Vineta Tan speaks to Chai Kien Poon, the Malaysian country head for the P2P financier, to understand both its Islamic finance as well as neobanking ambitions. 

As we move into the tail end of 2022, we are globally facing an increasing number of climate- related challenges, from the devastating floods in Pakistan to the looming energy crisis in Europe. ISFI speaks to Marcel Omar Papp, the Head of Swiss Re Retakaful Malaysia, to learn more about how sustainability risk impacts Takaful and re-Takaful operators.

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.