GLOBAL: One major
prevailing theme can be observed in the Islamic finance market in the last
seven days: New – new deals, new reforms, new products, new identities and
new people.
In the Sukuk space, we can anticipate new issuances from SapuraKencana
Petroleum (SKPB), Maxis Communications and Toyota Capital Malaysia. What is
most significant about the planned offerings is that they all fall within
the long-tenor category: 30 years (for SKPB and Maxis) and 10 years (for
Toyota Capital), demonstrating a gradual shift away from the traditional
sweet spots of three, five and seven years; and a rising market preference
for long-term Islamic papers.
Also noteworthy is that the SKPB’s program is the first private debt
security to be issued under Malaysia’s new Launch and Lodge Framework – a
regime recently introduced by the Securities Commission Malaysia which
greatly streamlines the issuance process of wholesale products, effectively
reducing the time-to-market for a variety of products including Sukuk and
Islamic wholesale funds (See IFN Report Vol 12 Issue 24: ‘Recognizing the maturity of the Islamic capital markets
— SC implements LOLA’).
It must be mentioned that the retail segment this week was particularly
teeming with new products, a testament to the expanding demand for Shariah
compliant financial products from the public. In Malaysia, Hong Leong
Islamic Bank rolled out Tawarruq-based current and savings accounts; Bank
Simpanan Nasional together with Prudential BSN Takaful brought to market a
new investment-linked Family Takaful Scheme; and Amanah Mutual launched a
new Shariah compliant fund. In the Middle East, Qatar Islamic Bank expanded
its product range with a fleet and heavy equipment financing package while
Alinma Tokio Marine Co got the final greenlight for a host of protection
and savings solutions. In the UK, Al Rayan Bank introduced its
highest-paying savings account yet – a 36-month fixed-term deposit.
The Islamic finance community this week also greeted a rebranded Arab
Banking Corporation which has now assumed a new identity: Bank ABC in
celebration of over three decades being in the business; while Gulf Finance
Corporation took the chance to leave a deeper impression within the
fraternity with a new brand logo.
In people news: Islami Bank Bangladesh welcomed to its board a new chairman
(Mustafa Anwar) and new vice-chairmen (Yousif Abdullah Al-Rajhi and
Professor NRM Borhan Uddin); while UAE-based United Arab Bank named Samer S
Tamimi as its new deputy CEO, replacing Awni Al Alami. Wrapping up this
week’s roundup with possibly the biggest people news headline: the
departure of Turkiye Finans’s CEO Derya Gurerk. With the news engine
focusing on Derya’s resignation amid allegations of corruption, the
participation bank has, however, indicated to IFN that Derya left on good
terms and affirmed that his decision to resign is independent of what had
been claimed in some media outlets. The captainship of the bank has been
passed over to Islamic banking veteran Osman Çelik.
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