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In order to develop a robust takaful sector, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has allowed M/s SPI Insurance Company Limited, formerly known as Saudi Pak Insurance Company Limited, to start window takaful operations. The initiative would help meet the risk mitigation needs of the masses and develop the Islamic financial sector, according to the SECP. Previously, two conventional insurance companies were allowed to transact takaful business through window operations. Currently, the SECP is processing one more application to start window takaful operations. The takaful sector in Pakistan has yet to go a long way in fulfilling the risk mitigation needs of the masses.

Pakistan's Pak Qatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL) has signed a BancaTakaful agreement with JS Bank Limited. This agreement marks the first direct arrangement between Pak-Qatar Family Takaful and any Bank for Banca Takaful. The signing ceremony was held at JS Bank’s head office in the presence of senior officials from both partners, including Muhammad Menhas, Deputy CEO and Country Sales Head, Kamran Rashid, Head of BancaTakaful and ADC and S Adnan Hasan, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication from Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Ltd. JS Bank was represented at the session by Khalid Imran, President and CEO, Kamran Jafar, Group Head - Corporate and Retail Banking Group, and Babbar Wajid, Head of Product Development & Business Management.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that foreign currency reserves will be increased up to $15 billion till December 31 this year through selling Sukuk bonds worth $500 million as IMF has also nodded to give $1.1 billion installment. Ishaq said the government would first hold roadshows and then float sukuk in the Middle East and Europe between November 21 and 24. He claimed to achieve $15 billion target till the end of this year. He said that the government would increase the size of Sukuk bond from $500 million to $1 billion after observing the investors' interest. Pakistan's foreign currency reserves stood at $13.443 billion on October 31, 2014, including $8.618 billion reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan and $4.825 billion reserves held by the commercial banks.

Dr. Hussein Hamed Hassan, Chairman of Shari’a Board for Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), recently visited Pakistan to meet various Shari’a Scholars, Government Dignitaries, senior Islamic Bankers, State Bank of Pakistan officials, prominent Pakistani businessmen and Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan (DIBPL) management. Dr. Hussein during his visit held various crucial meetings on Islamic Banking and Shari’a compliance with major stakeholders in the country. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of Islamic finance due to his contribution to developing structures for the day to day running of Islamic banks and financial institutions.

The adoption of good governance practices is beneficial to listed companies, unlisted companies, and family-owned enterprises. Good governance practices strengthen companies by building relationships among investors, boards of directors, managers, and employees. Implementing corporate governance guidelines allows businesses to obtain capital at lower cost, enhance business strategy, and attract the best human capital. Corporate governances also promotes competitiveness in the marketplace and is an antidote to corruption. CIPE partnered with the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan to assess sectoral needs and develop the Corporate Governance Guide for Family-Owned Enterprises.

After a false start, Islamic banking has become the fastest growing segment of the Pakistani banking industry, with the full support of the government. Apart from the ever-present challenge of liquidity management, most local Islamic bankers agree that their most important task now is to build awareness in the country.

Adamjee Life is going to enter the Islamic insurance market by March next year, company CEO Fredrik de Beer announced in a recent interview. “We will complete the business plan to seek the board’s approval by the end of October. We are hoping to launch Takaful products by the end of the first quarter of 2015,” Beer said.
Adamjee Life follows Jubilee Life Insurance and EFU Life Assurance that have already announced their plans to enter the Shariah-compliant segment of life insurance. Pakistan’s insurance industry has seen quite some activity lately, as both life and non-life entities have shown interest in setting up Islamic window operation

Jubilee General Insurance Co will seek shareholder approval to offer Islamic insurance Takaful to enter the sector after conventional firms were allowed to offer sharia-compliant products earlier this year. Other firms entering the market include United Insurance Company of Pakistan and EFU Group, Pakistan's largest insurer, which plans Takaful windows for both its life and general businesses.

Sukuk issuance and investing is expanding outside of the Islamic world. The asset holders range from sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth-individuals in the Arab Gulf, to retail investors in other Muslim majority countries such as Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia. According to Moody’s Investors Service, Malaysia at present dominates the sukuk market when it comes to both sovereign and corporate issuance. Other major issuers include the governments of Indonesia and Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The overall outstanding amount of sukuk will probably reach around $115 billion this year.

Pakistan's Ministry of Finance selected Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered as bookrunners for a U.S. dollar sukuk issue. An official said; the tenor of the bond and the format would be decided soon

The Pakistani unit of Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group has raised 2 billion rupees ($19.5 million) via the country's first issuance of subordinated sukuk, or Islamic bonds. The seven-year private placement is the first to be issued by an Islamic bank in Pakistan, according to Abdullah Ghaffar, head of investment banking at Al Baraka Bank Pakistan.

Due to the phasing in of Basel III global banking standards around the globe, several Islamic banks have issued subordinated instruments in order to raise capital, including those in Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Orix Leasing Pakistan Limited (OLPL) plans to tap the high growth Islamic finance market. The company has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL) with regard to a prospective merger/amalgamation of Standard Chartered Leasing Limited (SCLL), a subsidiary of SCBPL with and into OLPL or acquisition of SCBPL’s 86.45 per cent equity stake in SCLL. The MoU further provides the acquisition of SCBPL’s 100pc stake in Standard Chartered Services of Pakistan (Private) Limited and acquisition of SCBPL’s 20pc stake in Standard Chartered Modaraba. There is no certainty that the MoU would result in a binding transaction.

SECP is striving to establish a comprehensive Islamic financial system to cater for the needs of people, which are not inclined to use conventional financial products. The decision of SECP to permit conventional insurance companies to launch Takaful operations will result in rapid development of this sector. However, the development of an Islamic financial system needs to include Islamic banking industry, Takaful industry and Islamic capital and money markets with strong linkages, interdependence and synergies. Although Takaful has been in the market for long, it has yet to make significant inroads as the concept is clouded by unfamiliar terms and principles for commoners resulting in hesitancy. In absence of a viable Islamic capital market the adequate supply of quality financial instruments could be a difficulty.

Pakistan’s insurance sector is set for a boost in competition after the industry regulator allowed conventional firms to offer takaful earlier this year. The regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), has now granted two takaful licenses and has up to 10 applications currently being finalised. 20 to 25 new takaful window operators are expected in the market within one year. The regulator sees greater opportunity in life insurance although commercial lines of business could also find appeal in rural markets where the demand for products like crop, agricultural, livestock insurance is increasing. Such an increase in activity could face challenges, in particular a lack of experienced staff as well as the need for Islamic re-insurance products to help manage excess risk.

Al Baraka Bank Pakistan aims to play an active role in social and economic development, by way of contributing to secure the welfare, balance and solidarity of financially and socially challenged segments. Setting the ethical standards for a sustainable society A Group of Volunteers from Al Baraka Bank spent a day, celebrating the Independence Day, with the Children at The Citizens Foundation (TCF) School. Concluding the ceremony, Gift hampers were distributed amongst the attending children. Al Baraka is a sponsor of The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF) Schools. Development of Education sector, through various activities and funding is one of the primary concerns of Al Baraka, in the longer run.

Pakistan's health ministry has said that if new funds are not arranged for the delayed anti-polio campaign, it is likely to halt after two months. The Economic Coordination Council (ECC) was supposed to approve funds for the campaign in the second week of August, but it has not been allocated owing to a political crisis. The Islamic Development Bank, Japan and other organisations were to provide a loan of $326 million, with the interest on the amount to be paid by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A total of 115 polio cases has been registered in Pakistan this year. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), only 39 polio cases were registered last year.

Currently, Pakistan ranks ninth globally terms of development of the Islamic financial services industry but some recent purposeful steps would prove to be a game changer, said Mian Shahid, Chairman United International Group (UIG). Now, the conventional insurance companies in Pakistan are set to make major inroads into the Islamic insurance business with the active support of regulators, he added. The potential of Takaful in the Muslim world is still largely unexploited, he said, adding that its premiums are expected to reach $20 billion by 2017. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Malaysia enjoy the lion’s share on account of their advanced Islamic finance sector while Pakistan would need more simplified regulatory frameworks to propel the industry’s expansion, the insurance veteran observed.

A shortage of global sukuk will probably help cut borrowing costs on Pakistan’s first Islamic bonds since 2005, boosting a government besieged by opposition street protests. The government plans to offer $1 billion of the notes, with the sale scheduled for the first week of September. Assuming it’s a five-year maturity, the coupon rate will probably be 5.75 percent to 6.25 percent. The nation paid 7.25 percent for 2019 non-Islamic dollar debt in April. This deal will be an important test to see how a politically volatile country, as Pakistan is at the moment, can issue a high-yield sukuk. There will be demand because no other country is giving this huge return. The rupee has rebounded 9.3 percent from a record-low of 108.70 per dollar on Dec. 3. It closed at 99.49 yesterday.

The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has sought regulator’s approval to conduct due diligence of Burj Bank, as the bank wants to continue its footprints in the Islamic banking industry. The NBP had already initiated the process of converting its existing branches into Islamic ones, which will increase to 175 by the end of this year. The acquisition of Burj Bank provides NBP with the opportunity to become a key player in the Islamic banking industry of Pakistan. Burj Bank is the smallest of five full-fledged Islamic banks in Pakistan with a network of 75 branches. The State Bank of Pakistan is stepping up its push to develop Islamic banking, encouraging lenders to expand their operations in the world’s second most populous Muslim nation.

Hong Kong, Indonesia and Pakistan are banking on pent-up investor demand as they look to raise up to a combined US$3.5bn in the fast-growing Islamic bond market. The three sovereign sukuk issues, including a planned US$1bn debut from Triple A rated Hong Kong, are set to launch before the end of September. Indonesia is Asia’s only regular in the global sukuk market, having issued annually since 2010. Pakistan has sold Islamic debt overseas only once before, in 2005, while Malaysia has typically preferred to target its own domestic market. Hong Kong, in particular, is looking to promote itself as a regional hub for Islamic financing to capitalise on growing trade links between Greater China and the Middle East.