ISRA Shari'ah scholar certification

The plan by ISRA to set up a global certification for Shari'ah scholars is proceeding and the body expects to pick a board of regulators to develop the qualifications by year-end. The goal of the certification is to ensure that all Shari'ah scholars have requisite training and competence not only in Shari'ah, but also finance. I believe the primary beneficiaries of the qualification will be the less well known scholars who may find more demand for their services with the certification providing some confirmation that they are qualified. However, there will remain significant momentum among particularly the global financial institutions to recruit the highest profile scholars to their Shari'ah boards as a way of enhancing their reputation as being Shari'ah-compliant.

Other News

• Moody's Investor Services and Mashreq Capital DIFC believe that the Nakheel trade creditor sukuk will spur secondary market activity in sukuk because many trade creditors will sell them.
  
• Dana gas and Aldar's convertible sukuk performed well in the first two months of the third quarter, with their yield falling from 13.6% to 10.77% (for Dana Gas). The GCC sukuk market has been slow since the financial crisis and the AAOIFI resolution on sukuk.
  
• Padiberas Nasional Bhd issued sukuk as part of a RM750 million ($240 million) sukuk program. While issuance has rebounded in Malaysia, it has remained sluggish in the GCC following the Dubai debt crisis last fall.
  
• The National Bank of Ethiopia is close to approving a directive to allow Islamic banks and Islamic windows at conventional banks. Stanbic Bank in Tanzania, which launched Islamic financial products earlier this year, submitted an application to the country's central bank to widen its product offering.
  
• An article on an Islamic finance conference in Switzerland provides a good summary of the challenges facing Islamic finance if it wants to become more attractive and attract non-Muslim clients.
  
• An article from Trade Arabia discusses one small part of the Islamic financial industry that is Islamic exchange traded funds (ETFs)>
  
• Sudan delayed its planned $300 million sukuk issuance again citing the financial crisis.
  

Islamic and ethical finance, Nakheel sukuk, sukuk markets

The CEO of Noor Islamic Bank highlighted the opportunity for Islamic banking to compete with conventional banking in the wake of the financial crisis. He suggested that the financial crisis has created additional demand for ethical and more risk averse financial services, which would benefit Islamic finance. I think that Hussain Al Qemzi, the CEO, is making an important point for the Islamic finance industry by recognizing the two selling points for Islamic finance, especially if it is going to be able to attract non-Muslim customers, is the ethical framework (which has many similarities to the ethical/sustainability-focused mindset that goes beyond just Muslims) and the relatively more risk averse structure of Islamic finance. A focus on these areas could assist Islamic financial institutions in expanding outside of the main areas where Islamic finance exists.

The Nakheel sukuk is now trading above the redemption value on maturity, reflecting the additional premium payable to sukuk holders if there is no qualified public offering before the sukuk matures. This also reflects confidence that the sukuk will be redeemed in full upon maturity, which has been a longstanding concern given the property market collapse in Dubai since the sukuk was issued. Nakheel is currently in talks with Dubai World, which has guaranteed the sukuk that mature in December. Bloomberg also has an article on the subject.

The sukuk market has rebounded by about 40% compared to the first ten months of 2008. However, the issuance has been mostly by sovereign or government-related entities (GREs). This means that the credit quality of new issues has improved, which Moody's believes is a positive because it will help develop a "more detailed yield curve" which will benefit corporate issuers in the future. However, the lack of many corporate issuers, besides the most highly rated issuers like Saudi Electric Company (which was forced to pay far more than their sukuk of 2007) is potentially problematic for the market. Without a variety of issuers across the credit ratings scale, there will be few opportunities for companies to enter the market and the continued growth in the market will be limited. Only time will tell whether this persists, but the first signs of a rebound in the corporate sukuk area should come from the secondary markets. If trading of listed corporate sukuk becomes more liquid, it may begin to entice new issuers into the market.

Islamic Finance Resources, another blog, has some great material posted up and one of the recent is a collection of webcasts and podcasts on Islamic finance. This site is definitely recommended as a source of invaluable resources on Islamic finance.

Other News

• Sukuk could be the new alternative investment in the wake of the financial crisis which saw risky investments take large hits because of its more conservative structure.
  
• Indonesia will not pay higher yields on sukuk than conventional bonds. This comes following investor demand for higher yields on several recent sukuk auctions.
  
• SWIFT is working with Path Solutions on a financial messaging system for the Islamic banking industry.
  
• Swiss company Sarasin is launching an Islamic wealth management unit.
  
• QInvest and Fortis Bank are launching a Shari'ah-compliant ship financing fund.
  
• Indonesian company Mitra is issuing a 200 billion rupiah ($21.4 million) sukuk along with a conventional bond.
  
• Pakistan is considering issuing a sovereign sukuk.
  
• Bank Negara Malaysia governor Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz gave a speech highlighting the prospects of Islamic finance integrating into the international financial system. She also highlighted in another speech the ability of Islamic finance to deal with the risks to the Islamic financial system.
  
• UBS is planning to expand to offer Islamic derivatives to help clients hedge risks, reports Reuters.
  
• DIFC and bankers in London are discussing partnerships and new opportunities. A conference held by UK Trade & Investment will discuss the effects of the credit crisis on Islamic finance.
  
• France may also look to Malaysia for guidance on developing its Islamic financial industry. Australia may also become a source of sukuk based on its natural resource wealth, according to the deputy governor of the Malaysian central bank.
  
• Hong Kong continues to move forward on its plans to attract Islamic finance with proposed tax changes to level the playing field for sukuk.
  
• The FT discusses the attention paid to Islamic finance following the financial crisis.