Islamic Finance news honors the best in the industry

Islamic Finance news honors the best in the industry

Daily Cover

MALAYSIA: Held at the Shangri La in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the IFN Awards ceremony for the 8th consecutive year honored the best of the best in the Islamic finance industry. Covering all the major Islamic finance markets globally, the prestigious event was attended by more than 340 key industry practitioners, all of whom came to bask in the glory. For the 2013 IFN Deals of the Year, 395 deals were submitted, in 32 categories, with the winners alone representing US$25 billion. IILM’s US$490 million Sukuk issuance won the Sukuk Deal of the Year and Deal of the Year. Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, CEO of the IILM, was present to collect the prestigious award on behalf of the issuer, and was joined on stage by Afaq Khan, CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq; Leon Koay, the managing director, head of global markets and co-head of wholesale banking, Malaysia at Standard Chartered Bank; Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid, the deputy CEO of CIMB Islamic; Arshad Mohd Ismail, the head of business development at Maybank Investment Bank; and Adrian Chee Meng Yang, a partner at Adnan, Sundra & Low, representing the arrangers and legal counsel. Ahmad Zaini Othman, the president and CEO of MBSB and Mike Chan, the managing director and CEO of RHB Investment Bank, collected the award for the Structured Finance Deal of the Year. SP Setia claimed two award categories: Perpetual Deal of the Year for its RM609 million (US$184.49 million) Sukuk Musharakah and Musharakah Deal of the Year for its RM700 million (US$ 212.06 million) Sukuk Musharakah program, with Teow Leong Seng, SP Setia’s executive director and chief financial officer, receiving the accolades. The ceremony was also attended by Samsudin Osman, the chairman of BIMB Holdings and Zamani Abdul Ghani, the chairman of Bank Islam Malaysia, who received the award for Equity Deal of the Year; and Rafael B Conception Jr, the executive director of Golden Agri-Resources, who collected the award for Indonesia Deal of the Year. Our 2013 IFN Best Banks Poll witnessed a record-breaking 11,117 votes across 38 hotly contested categories, with CIMB Islamic succeeding in three categories including Best Islamic Bank in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The winners also included Naoki Nishida, the president and CEO of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia), who collected the award for Best Islamic Bank in Japan; and Wasim Saifi, the global head of Islamic banking and CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq, who claimed the award for Best Islamic Private Bank. The Islamic Investor Poll saw Malaysia claim seven of the 12 categories, with Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, the executive director of Securirties Commission and Islamic Capital Business Market Group, claiming the award for Best Fund Domicile of Choice; Maznah Mahbob, CEO of AmInvestment Management, winning Best Investor Relations by an Asset Management Company; and Angelia Chin-Sharpe, CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Management, collecting the Most Innovative Asset Management Company. The IFN Service Providers Poll winners included Malaysia’s KFH Research, with Baljeet Kaur Grewal, its managing director, receiving the award for Best Islamic Research Firm; and Etiqa Takaful for Best Takaful Provider, with its CEO, Ahmad Rizlan Azman, collecting the award. We extend our warmest congratulations to all the winners, and a fantastic night was had by all. For more details on our awards victors, please visit http://islamicfinancenews.com/awards.asp