Friday, 22 March 2019

Moderate growth forecast for the global Islamic finance market

The Global Islamic Finance Market Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 - 2024) report by Mordor Intelligence is now available on ResearchAndMarkets.com.

The global Islamic finance market is growing moderately, because of strong investments in the halal sector, infrastructure, and sukuk, especially through online availability of all products and services, said the research firm.

According to Mordor Intelligence, Islamic banking is commonly seen to have two advantages over conventional banking. The first is a perception that Islamic banks are bound to a higher moral standard. They will not take on irresponsible amounts of risk or pay outsize bonuses to their top bankers. The second is that earnings come from identifiable assets, not opaque combinations of derivatives and securities. Because Islamic banks cannot make money through interest, they rely on ties to tangible assets, such as real estate and equity, charging 'rent' instead of interest.

Across its three main sectors - banking, capital markets and takaful - the Islamic finance market has an estimated worth of US$2.05 trillion in 2017, marking 8.3% growth in assets in US$ terms. Global sukuk surged by a record 25.6% to close at US$399.9 billion at the end of 2017 on the back of strong sovereign and multilateral issues in key Islamic finance markets, including debut entries into the sovereign sukuk market by KSA.

Islamic banking is the largest sector in the Islamic finance industry, contributing to 71%, or US$1.72 trillion, to the market. Commercial banking remains the main contributor to the sector's growth.

There were 505 Islamic banks in 2017, including 207 Islamic banking windows. However, the number of players is not necessarily indicative of the size of the industry in terms of assets. Islamic finance's second-largest market, KSA, has 16 Islamic banks, including windows, which is fewer than the geographically-smaller markets of Malaysia and the UAE.

With the growing popularity of mobile banking, particularly among younger people according to PwC's 2018 Digital Banking Consumer Survey, a growing number of digital-only, or 'disruptor banks' with no physical branches, have emerged. Islamic banks are also catching up with the launching of digital-only subsidiaries, such as Gulf International Bank's Meem in Bahrain and KSA.

Shari'ah-compliant assets represent a significant portion of total banking assets in the GCC. In the GCC, the market share of Islamic banking has crossed the 25% threshold, which suggests that Islamic banks have become systemically important in these countries.

The global Islamic finance market is fragmented with a large number of players trying to grab a chunk of the developing market. In Asia, it is growing moderately with many local players and some big players. However, the GCC is a highly competitive market, with many international players. Al-Rajhi Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Kuwait House Finance are among the major players present in the region.


Companies mentioned in the report include:

  • Dubai Islamic Bank
  • National Commercial Bank Saudi Arabia
  • Bank Mellat Iran
  • Bank Melli Iran
  • Kuwait Finance House
  • Bank Saderat Iran
  • Malayan Bank Berhad (Maybank) Malaysia
  • Bank Maskan Iran
  • Qatar Islamic Bank
  • Alinma Bank Saudi Arabia
Details:

Buy the report (February 2019)

Wednesday, 20 March 2019

Four new projects to focus on environment, culture, and wellness in Riyadh

As part of ongoing efforts to improve the lives of Saudi citizens and transform the city of Riyadh in KSA into one of the world’s most livable cities, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman launched on 19 March 2019 four projects worth SR86 billion.

HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will head the committee overseeing the projects: King Salman Park, Riyadh Green, Sports Boulevard, and Riyadh Art.

The projects will complement Saudi Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program, and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to create sustainable cities and communities, while driving urgent action against climate change.

The projects are expected to generate 70,000 new jobs for citizens in various sectors, and offer investment opportunities worth SR50 billion to local and foreign investors. Implementation will begin during 2H19.

King Salman Park

Source: King Salman Park website. The plan includes green areas and open spaces of more than 9.3 million sq m.
Source: King Salman Park website. The plan includes green areas and open spaces of more than 9.3 million sq m.

King Salman Park aims to contribute to changing and improving the lifestyle of all Riyadh residents. The park will be located at a strategic location in the heart of Riyadh, linked to six main roads and highways. It will include buildings and facilities such as: The Royal Art Complex, a national theatre, an opera house, art academies, museums and galleries, extensive green areas, open squares, sports compounds, and a golf course.

Sports Boulevard

Sports Boulevard aims to encourage citizens to follow a healthy lifestyle, exercise, and participate in different sports, particularly, walking, cycling, and horse riding. The boulevard will include 48 green and open space sites, event venues, show squares, outdoor museums, movie theatres, cycling and horseback riding tracks, jogging tracks, and sports and cultural centres.

Green Riyadh

Green Riyadh will lead to improved air quality, and reduced temperatures in Riyadh by increasing green space availability to 28 sq m per capita from the current 1.7 s m per capita. It aims to raise total green spaces by planting 7.5 million trees across the capital. All of the greening will be watered by recycled water from an irrigation network.

Riyadh Art

Riyadh Art will be the world’s largest government investment in public art. The project aims to engage artists and citizens from all around the world, as well as strengthen social values, improve civilised interaction, knowledge transfer, and creative cooperation. It will deliver more than 1,000 installation artworks and landmarks to be created by local and international artists, distributed in public spaces across the city of Riyadh. It will include cultural and art institutions such as museums and theatres.

Saturna Sdn Bhd appoints new president

Saturna in Malaysia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Saturna Capital Corporation, has announced the appointment of Shahariah Shaharudin as its new president.

Shaharudin replaces Monem Salam, who has returned to Saturna’s US office. “I am deeply honoured to be a part of this dynamic organisation and take Saturna Malaysia into its next phase of growth, while making sure we’re well positioned for the future challenges of the global asset management industry,” said Shaharudin.

A tenured professional with over 30 years of experience in commercial banking, fund management, and stock-broking, Shaharudin previously served as the CEO/Executive Director of Kenanga Islamic Investors Berhad (KIIB). She holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor of Business Administration and Economics degree from Knox College.

Said Salam, Executive VP and fund manager of Saturna Capital: “Her deep experience in this market will ensure that Saturna continues to innovate and remain on the cutting edge of both Islamic and sustainable investing, proving, over the long run, that the combination of these two styles is a win-win for investors.”

Saturna is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and specialises in Islamic-compliant investment advisory services for individuals and institutions. The company is a licensed Islamic fund manager under the Securities Commission of Malaysia, and is adviser to the ASEAN Equity Fund, and the ICD Global Sustainable Fund.

Friday, 15 March 2019

Mosque official guilty of criminal breach of trust

MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, has reported that a former mosque official and volunteer has pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust in regard to cash donations to a mosque.

In 2013, Muis detected financial irregularities at the mosque and referred the matter to the police.

In a statement online Muis said that it does not tolerate any financial impropriety at mosques. "Muis has policies and procedures in place to ensure good governance in the mosques, and continuously reviews these measures to meet national regulatory standards and benchmarks," the organisation said.
Muis has conducted refresher training in recent years on Mosque Financial Regulations with mosque staff and members of the mosque management boards to create greater awareness on the importance of good financial management. Muis has also put in place regular independent audits on all mosques to ensure compliance with the Mosque Financial Regulations.

Muis also stressed that the case should not tarnish the good name and the invaluable contributions of mosque leaders, volunteers and staff, who have been serving their community and congregation selflessly and with amanah (أمانة, fulfilment of a trust) through the years.

Thursday, 14 March 2019

Taisys’ Mobisphere to establish Mobile eID joint venture with Nahdlatul Ulama

Source: Taisys. From left: Ho, Pituduh, and Azhan Muhammad, Director of Mobisphere. The signing ceremony took place on March 13, at Taisys Technologies' headquarters in Taipei City, Taiwan.

Taisys' Mobisphere and Nusantara Digital Inovasi (NDI), the digital transformation arm for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), plan to set up a joint venture that will develop, implement and operate a mobile eID platform.

With over 110 million members, Indonesia's NU is set to bring about digital transformation for the largest autonomous Islamic organisation in the world based on a secured mobile ecosystem. Services provided via this mobile eID platform include, and not limited to, mobile identification and authentication, international telco services based on remote SIM provisioning technology, cross-border remittance, mobile banking and payment services.

"Taisys has long been a trusted mobile ID solution provider for banking services since the 2G/feature phone era. Now that smartphones and APPs manage our daily work and lives, the need to use the phone as a form of identity authentication and transaction authorisation is increasing ever more.

"The beauty of our mobile ID solution, which sets it apart from others, is that it can accommodate beyond authentication services for banking and fintech, to include digital SIM services where mobile subscriptions are downloaded onto the phone. This is the perfect example where the use case can be supported by the right technology, elevating the comprehensiveness and industry/device/telco agnostic nature of the Taisys mobile ID solution," stated Taisys Chairman Jason Ho.

"This mobile eID shall create the next level of digital ID security in addition to the services to be offered by NU to its communities such as mobile payments/ wallets, telco services, fintech and banking services. NU has worldwide members, and in upholding NU digital sovereignty objective and creating service layers within a secured environment, NU members in particular and Indonesian nationals in general will be benefitted most.

"NU has significant number of its members residing in Taiwan, Malaysia, Middle East and other parts of the world. For example, over 1 million NU members in Malaysia are regularly (sending remittances) to their loved ones, and through this JV initiative, it will create the digital security eco-system for NU communities in Indonesia and beyond. Not to mentioned their mobile daily usage for work and lives. This augurs well with NU's objective in digital transformation," said Imam Pituduh, Chairman of NU Digital Transformation Services.

Ady Seto Bremono, Mobisphere Indonesia Director, said that the partnership will add to the existing Mobisphere ecosystem which already involves banks, remittance providers and social media players.

"Mobisphere Flex in Malaysia is backed by an Islamic bank, while in Indonesia and other 20 corridor countries, it has cooperation with banks, financial institution non-bank, switching operator and social media players; therefore, through a mobile ID platform with services on top, it is truly is a working example of a complete ecosystem for NU communities," he said.

NU was established in 1926 in Surabaya, Indonesia. It is the largest independent Islamic organisation in the world, and exists to spread Islamic teaching. It also owns 44 universities, and is involved in economic and agricultural studies, and social activities including family planning.

Mobisphere is an ASEAN regional provider of mobile payment platforms and remittance switching services. It is a joint venture of Taiwan-headquartered Taisys, which provides mobile interconnectivity and vertical integration solutions.

Wednesday, 13 March 2019

IsDB names four winners for Transformers Roadshow

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has awarded four innovators US$3,000 each as part of the 4th Transformers Roadshow competition. Applicants were invited to pitch ideas accelerating one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Source: IsDB. The winners posed with Dr Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank.
Source: IsDB. The winners posed with Dr Sindi. 
Ibrokihim Abdurakhmanov, Minister for Innovative Development, Uzbekistan opened the Transformers Roadshow saying: "We are delighted to welcome innovators from across Uzbekistan and celebrate their achievements that will ultimately work to progress the ambitions of the the IsDB in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Uzbekistan government has a rich history in supporting innovation and will continue to be a proud leader in the field of science and technology to continue to support entrepreneurs in our regions closely alongside our trusted partners at the IsDB through funding, mentorships and scholarships.”

The competition attracted entrepreneurs and scientists across Uzbekistan and featured projects in e-learning, water purification and agricultural solutions among others. The initiatives were assessed in line with the SDG agenda across factors such as innovativeness, impact and outreach, practicality, scalability, sustainability, potential for patenting as well as commercialisation.

Dr Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to the President, Islamic Development Bank said: “Through the Transform Fund, our dream is to support science, technology and innovation-led solutions designed by local entrepreneurs and innovators who understand their communities.”

In addition to the cash prize, winners of the competition received an invitation to attend the 2019 IsDB Transformers Summit in Senegal. The winners were:

- Zafar Iskandarov, for a project to improve water purification

- Shahlo Miralimova, for a project to improve probiotics production

- Gulistan Orazimbetov, for a project to increase efficiency in the use of raw materials in cement production

A special award – the Transformers Potential Project Award – was presented to Khilola To’khtamurova, who is improving opportunities for children with Down Syndrome in Uzbekistan.

Dr Sindi added, “I am proud that the IsDB continue to share important scientific knowledge so local communities can build their own capabilities and create a sustainable future. We (at the IsDB) recognise that Uzbekistan needs more than just grant funding, it needs innovative solutions to provide more sustainable and inclusive growth.”

Launched in July 2018, the Transformers Roadshow is one of the initiatives led by the IsDB Transform Fund. The IsDB mission via the Transform Fund is to equip people to drive their own economic and social progress at scale, putting the infrastructure in place to enable them to fulfil their potential.

Monday, 11 March 2019

Rasel Catering Singapore expands with new capabilities

Source: Rasel Catering. The spread for the launch.
Source: Rasel Catering. The spread for the launch.

Rasel Catering Singapore, a premium halal catering service, has expanded its capabilities to take their brand to pole position.

Alan Tan, Co-Founder and MDof Rasel Catering Singapore said, “Rasel meets the world at MICE events and weddings. We observe the worldly palates of today’s customers and need for up-scale halal food. Service today means augmenting not only the taste of a dish and look of a buffet but also sharing our expertise to add value throughout the entire service experience for our customers.”

“From the scale of the occasion, to overcoming the design challenges of the chosen venue and expectations of their families or superiors, our customers can expect the full spectrum of halal service solutions which is Rasel’s new hallmark. They can rely on our professional advice and deep knowledge to overcome even the most unexpected of challenges to make their occasion a truly original one,” said Chris Loh, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Rasel Catering Singapore.

Rasel is onboarding an international award-winning kitchen team. Executive Chef Boey Min Hwa will helm Rasel’s kitchen. Selected from to support the Singapore National Culinary Team, Chef Hwa has a strong passion for the culinary arts and continues to hone his craft.  He has assisted both the Hot Cooking and Hot Present Cold categories which clinched Singapore’s first-ever double gold medals including Best Overall Champion at the 2016 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany.

Chef Hwa marries his Western skills to inject fresh vigour into Rasel’s premium halal repertoire. Newly appointed as Director of Culinary at Purple Sage Group and Rasel Catering Singapore, Chef Teo Yeow Siang will oversee the Rasel kitchen.

Chef Hwa said, “Halal food isn’t just mee Siam or mee rebus. Singapore is culture-rich and taste buds here are accustomed to all sorts of flavours.   I belong to the crossover generation and so I understand the changing demands of baby-boomers as much as Xennials (those born between the late 1970s and early 1980s).  It excites me to craft old favourites as new creations and present it to delight our customers who are looking for something original to surprise their guests at their events.”

Leveraging digital technology advancement, Rasel also introduced the iBox as a queue-cutting solution at MICE events to increase efficiency in food service. Participants at such large-scale events can order their food via mobile phone. With the given code, they can just key the code in at an iBox to retrieve their meal.

Rasel continually observes, listens and acts on strengthening its core competency in food service to cater to clients with different needs.  As such, it also launched Simply Buffet which is small on price but big on taste. This new tier provides an alternative for customers who prioritise price without compromising the quality of the food.

Tan said, “Simply Buffet was created to complete our spectrum of solutions for our customers. Depending on our guest’s occasion, Rasel has extended our menu to include another joyful feature to meet our customers’ more specific needs.”

Some of the food served at the launch included:

Source: Rasel Catering. Chilled soya curd with lemongrass syrup.
Source: Rasel Catering. Chilled soya curd with lemongrass syrup.

Source: Rasel Catering. Crispy kale, Asian slaw and seaweed tofu.
Source: Rasel Catering. Crispy kale, Asian slaw and seaweed tofu.

Source: Rasel Catering. Jasmine and lychee cake.
Source: Rasel Catering. Jasmine and lychee cake.

Source: Rasel Catering. Satay-marinated leg of lamb with homemade peanut sauce.
Source: Rasel Catering. Satay-marinated leg of lamb with homemade peanut sauce. 

Wednesday, 6 March 2019

Muis appoints Hajj travel agents for two years


The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has appointed five Individual General Sales Agents (IGSAs) and seven Consortium General Sales Agents (CGSAs) to provide Hajj packages for two years, 2019-2020 (1440-1441).

For Hajj 2019 (1440), prospective Singaporean pilgrims may choose from a total of 40 approved Hajj packages. Twelve of these are short-duration packages for 13 to 22 days. Another 25 are intermediate-duration packages for between 23 and 31 days. The remaining three packages cover stays ranging from 32 to 35 days.

A typical average Hajj package price for 2019 is around S$11,500 (double occupancy) and the lowest package price remains unchanged from the previous year at S$6,995 (quad occupancy). All package prices quoted include Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA) but exclude airfare and prevailing taxes.

Prospective pilgrims for 2019 will be receiving the Haj Package Selection Letter this week. Muis advises prospective pilgrims to evaluate packages carefully, based on their individual needs and affordability. Prospective pilgrims are strongly advised not to make any payments to the approved GSAs until they receive the Haj Package Selection Letter from Muis.

Pilgrims are also advised to read and understand the contents of the Haj Package Purchase Contract. GSAs have been requested to explain in full detail to prospective pilgrims before confirming and signing each contract. Prospective pilgrims are reminded to only choose from GSAs who are approved by Muis.

The approved agencies are:

Individual Travel Agents

(1) Halijah Travels
(2) Jalaluddin Travel & Services
(3) Noor Mohamad Services & Travel
(4) Shahidah Travel & Tours
(5) TM Fouzy Travel & Tours

Consortium Travel Agents

(6) Afandi Travel & Services (Lead Agent)
(7) Al Firdaus Travels
(8) Al Qaswa Tours & Travel
(9) Evershine Travel & Services
(10) Qu’ins Travel & Tours
(11) De Hayat Travel & Services
(12) Hagel Travel & Tour (Lead Agent)
(13) Rafflesia Travel & Tours
(14) Zuma Travel & Tours
(15) Hahnemann Travel & Tours (Lead Agent)
(16) An Nur Travel
(17) Hamidah Travel & Tours (Lead Agent)
(18) Al Fattah Travel & Tours
(19) Smiling Travel
(20) TravelConnect.sg
(21) Nurhikmah Travel & Tours (Lead Agent)
(22) Babus Salam Holidays
(23) AQ Travel Travel & Tours
(24) Sunny Island Travel & Tours
(25) Primula Travel & Tours (Lead Agent)
(26) EZ Travel & Tours
(27) Sha Travel & Tours (Lead Agent)
(28) Ruby Rashid Travel & Tours
(29) Al Munawwarah Travel & Tours
(30) Thoha Travels & Tours
(31) Abu Bakar Travel Services

Details:

Download the PDF of details

Friday, 1 March 2019

KSA ladies choose Apple as their favourite brand

Apple has beat dairy brand Almarai to become the top brand in the 2019 Women’s Choice Brand Rankings* by YouGov MENA for KSA. With new iPhones and Apple watches last year, the brand generated a lot of noise and has strengthened its appeal among women, YouGov said.

Almarai increased the price of milk in the past year, which generated substantial resentment among consumers. They took to social media to call for boycotts of the brand. Almarai’s perception among women in KSA declined subsequently, pulling it down from 1st to 5th place this year.

Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA: top 10.
Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA: top 10.

The rankings were compiled using the Impression score from YouGov’s daily brand tracker, BrandIndex, asking respondents the question “Which of the following brands do you generally have a positive/negative feeling about?” over the past 12 months.

Apple’s smartphone brand, iPhone, is now in 2nd place.

Fast food restaurant chain Al Baik climbed from 7th in last year's YouGov BrandIndex Women's Rankings to 3rd this year.

Dettol has moved up to 6th from 8th last year while Fairy and Alrajhi Bank are new entrants at 8th and 9th respectively. Galaxy (the chocolate brand) made a re-entry into the list at 10th. It had dropped out last year.

Technology brands did not do well. Both WhatsApp and YouTube saw a decline in their rankings, slipping down to 4th and 7th respectively in 2019.

YouGov also revealed the 10 brands that made the largest improvement to their Impression scores over the past 12 months. Telco mada is the most improved brand of the past year among women with a change in score of +11.5, going from an Impression score of 23.2 in last year's YouGov BrandIndex Women's Rankings to 34.7 this year.

Food and beverage brands seem to be resonating well with women in LKSA. Some of the top brands such as Maestro Pizza (+8.7), Coca-Cola (+8.2), Pepsi (+7.4), Kinder (+7.0) and Tasali (+5.9) are in the list of the top 10 improvers.

Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA. The brands that improved the most year on year.
Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA. The brands that improved the most year on year.

Chinese tech giant Huawei is also becoming popular amongst women and has shown a marked improvement in its score (+7.9), becoming the fourth best improver of 2019.

*The 501 brands in KSA in the YouGov BrandIndex were ranked using the Impression score, which asks respondents, “Overall, of which of the following brands do you have Positive/Negative impression?” Scores are net scores, calculated by subtracting the percentage of negative responses from the percentage of positive responses for each brand.

The Women’s Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Impression scores between February 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019. The Impression Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Impression comparing the scores for the 12 months ending January 31, 2019 and the 12-month period ending January 31, 2018. To be included, the year-over-year variance must be positive. Scores are representative amongst women.

All Impression scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; however, YouGov also used additional precision to assign ranks.

All brands had to be tracked for at least six months to be included in the rankings. They had to be tracked for at least six months in the prior year’s period (as well as be currently tracked) to appear in the movers' tables.

Nomad Universe to take place in March

Source: Nomad Universe. Archery in action.
Source: PRNewsfoto/World Ethnogames. Archery in action.
The World Ethnogames Confederation in Kyrgyzstan, in cooperation with The Camel Club of KSA, are organising Nomad Universe. The event will be held from March 9-19, 2019 as part of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in KSA.

"Nomad Universe in the framework of The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is a global summit of peoples and ethnic groups who come together for preserving and demonstrating their uniqueness. A great role model for unity in diversity and in-line with Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision," said Askhat Akibayev, President of The World Ethnogames Confederation.

The main goal of Nomad Universe is the preservation and revival of historical heritage and diversity of the original culture of peoples and ethnic groups worldwide. A thousand participants from 90 countries will attend Nomad Universe to perform and present their cultural treasures in art, sport and science.

"Every year due to globalisation, many traditions, customs and ancient wisdom of various peoples and ethnic groups are getting more and more lost. Preserving the great heritage of our ancestors is a necessity to meet the challenges of the future responsibly and sustainably. With Nomad Universe, we created a new global format to present, visualise and preserve ethno-art, ethnosport and ethnoscience from all over the world, based on ancient traditions and historical heritage," said Akibayev.

The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is the world's largest camel festival, held annually under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The festival is a diverse cultural, economic and sporting event that accentuates the heritage and reflects the cultural depth of KSA.

It is currently taking place from February 21 till March 24, 2019 near the village of Al-Sayahid, 150 km from Riyadh, KSA. The location is a permanent venue, built on 30 million sq m of desert, and visited by 35,000 people per day. For many centuries this historical place has been served as a meeting point for camel caravans arriving from all points of the Arabian Peninsula.

Explore:

Watch the associated video