Shariah adviser Mufti Ismail Ebrahim Desai noted that Islam was a religion of balanced justice and equity, and had no room for business dealings that could cause social imbalance, deprivation and injustice. He spoke at a recent Webinar organized by TAIF Digital Institute for Islamic Finance. On the side of basic concepts of Islamic finance and banking, he highlighted three basic categories such as equity base transaction, trading based transaction and lease-based transaction. He explained the concepts of Musharaka, Mudarabah, Murabaha, Istina, Takaful and Sukuk. He identified Mediation and Arbitration, Partnership-Equity/Debt, Employment-Hadeeth of sweat and documentation of contracts as part of the common pitfalls that relate to Shariah-compliant businesses.
WebTV's Islamic Finance Weekly will be featuring a robust conversation with Abdulkader Thomas on Islamic Trade Finance, Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria and Africa. Key discussion points include: understanding the concept of "Islamic Trade Finance"; how the Islamic Trade Finance Framework is helping to boost Intra-African trade; challenges and opportunities for integrating Islamic Trade Financing to support African businesses and SMEs; how Islamic Finance can be adopted to support the development of the economy and lift millions of people from poverty.
The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) set aside $2.3 billion for its Strategic Preparedness and Response Programme for its member countries to tackle the economic fallout of the corona pandemic. OIC member states may partake in Digital Country Presentations, a new global gateway that offers investors, governments, and institutions an overview of upcoming trade and investment opportunities. SMEs can open a virtual 'stall' on Made in Series, an open platform that enables smaller businesses to present products, projects, and services to a global audience. Earlier this month, the IsDB issued its first-ever sustainability sukuk for social projects. According to Group President Dr. Bandar Hajjar, the latest sukuk placement allows the IsDB to tackle the aftermath of the pandemic with strong interventions in affected countries and sectors.
According to Imam Abdul-Wahab Saadudeen, the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) should be reviewed to enhance Nigeria's Islamic banking industry. He believes the regulatory bodies must take into cognizance the principles of Islamic Finance to create an enabling environment for its growth in Nigeria. The Islamic scholar noted that over the years, the Islamic Banking legal framework has not been reviewed to reflect the developments taking place now. He made a strong call for a competent Sharia Advisory Board to ensure that Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions are not exposed to avoidable systemic risks. He also called for more clarity in Islamic Banking because it seeks to boost financial inclusion, achieve sustainable development and economic prosperity for all Nigerians.
The Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and the London Stock Exchange Plc (LSE) have both pledged to partner to boost Green Sukuk globally. President of the ISDB, Dr. Bandar Hajjar, met with the CEO of the LSE Plc, Nikhil Rathi, to discuss ways of broadening their collaboration. Green Sukuk has recently emerged as a unique example of a Sharia-compliant impact investing instrument with strong growth prospects. According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, a total of $117.8 billion in green bonds and Sukuk were issued in the first half of 2019, up 48% year-on-year. The Climate Bonds Initiative has also identified the following eligible assets for green Sukuk: solar parks, biogas plants, wind energy projects, renewable transmission and infrastructure projects, and electric vehicles. Equally, they can be used to subsidize a government's green payments.
The Africa Fintech Network will take part in "The African Islamic FinTech Summit (SAIFI)" as a Community Partner. The event takes place at the Radisson Blu Plaza, Dakar (Senegal) on the 29th & 30th of November. The summit will host the POC and the launching of innovative FinTech Solutions and will include Keynote Sessions and Regulatory discussions between Government Agencies, Financial Institutions and Startups. In addition, a certified training session on "Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)" will be organised and facilitated by international experts from West African Financial institutions.
The Emir of Kano HRH Muhammad Sanusi II has called for robust regulatory and legal framework to deepen non-interest finance in Nigeria. He made this assertion as keynote speaker at the 4th African International Conference on Islamic Conference hosted in Lagos. As Africa faces a $360bn infrastructure gap, Sanusi was of the view that Islamic Finance offered an opportunity for addressing the deficit. Since the blueprint for Islamic Finance was rolled out in the country in 2013 it took 4 years for the issuance of first set of Sukuk bonds in 2017 and 2018 respectively. He commended the organizers of the conference and believed that it served as a platform for creating awareness on Islamic Finance as a vehicle for driving Alternative Financing in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lotus Capital, a full-service, Halal investment management company listed its Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The listing event was commemorated with a Closing Gong ceremony.
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) in collaboration with IE Business School offers a training program for the development of executives across the Islamic finance industry. The Master in Islamic Finance program has a blended format, combining on-site periods in Spain and Saudi Arabia with dynamic, interactive online modules to minimize the time away from work. The length of the training is 13 months and intake starts in October 2017. Throughout the program, participants will obtain practical knowledge of high-level financial tools, develop practical Islamic Finance technical skills and acquire leadership skills. Upon program completion participants receive a University Private Degree from IE Business School and IE Universidad. IE Business School is a school within IE Universidad, which is a University officially accredited by the Spanish education authorities.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has carried out a 150 million US dollar Islamic financing transaction on the Murabaha platform of Nasdaq Dubai. Following high levels of investor interest, the initial target of 100 million US dollars was more than twice oversubscribed, resulting in a final order book of approximately 230 million US dollars. Banji Fehintola, Corporate Treasurer of AFC, expressed his gratitude to Nasdaq Dubai whose Murabaha platform greatly facilitated the issuance. AFC’s Sukuk, issued on January 24, 2017, is the highest rated USD Sukuk issuance from an African entity. The privately placed Murabaha Sukuk was awarded an A3 senior unsecured rating by Moody's Investors Service.
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