The global issuance of Sharia-complaint foreign and local currency bonds this year is expected to reach as much as $115 billion (Dh422.1bn), the same level of 2018, with oil prices being a determining factor of total size of sales, according to S&P Global Ratings.
The total sukuk issuance from the six-member economic bloc of GCC is expected to climb to $47.6bn, slightly higher than $46bn achieved in 2018, with Saudi Arabia leading the sovereign issuers from the region, S&P said on Tuesday.
The UAE, the second-biggest GCC economy, may sell $8bn worth of sukuk in 2019, slightly lower than $9.1bn recorded at the end of 2018, with private sector corporations dominating the issuance in the country this year.
S&P has developed “optimistic” and “pessimistic” growth scenarios for the global sukuk market in 2019 due to the heightened uncertainty this year in the wake of the global liquidity squeeze, the US Federal Reserve's gradual interest rates increases, and higher cost of funding for issuers.
Geopolitical uncertainties will also be a factor in how investors perceive the risk in buying regional sukuk, with the oil price remaining the biggest factor influencing financing needs and the ultimate volume of paper sold from the hydrocarbon-dependent economies of the GCC, S&P noted.
Under its optimistic scenario, S&P estimates the total sale of global sukuk to reach $115bn. The foreign currency issuance could range between $32bn and $28bn, in optimistic and pessimistic growth scenarios, respectively, against $30bn recorded at the end of 2018.
“If we are to see higher oil prices, GCC countries will have lower financing needs [and vice-versa]. Oil prices will be the key to how sukuk markets performs,” Mohammed Damak, senior director and global head of Islamic finance at S&P told reporters in Dubai. “Saudi Arabia [within the GCC] will be the biggest sukuk issuer in both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios.”
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Read more:
GCC Sukuk issuance drops 15% in 2018 on rising cost of borrowings, S&P says
Dana Gas says sukuk holders approve restructuring to end legal dispute
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Despite their efforts to diversify their economies in the wake of the three-year oil price slum that began in the middle of 2014, sovereigns in the GCC, home to about a third of the world’s proven oil reserves, still heavily rely on sale of hydrocarbons to fuel their economies. Their financing needs are tied to the oil price, which has seen extreme volatility in the past few months, dropping about 40 per cent since October and then clawing back some of the lost ground. Brent, the benchmark against which half of the world’s oil is priced, is currently hovering around the $60 per barrel mark.
Issuers from the GCC, both sovereigns and private sector firms, have used a combination of Islamic and conventional debt instruments to beef up their finances. Although the Islamic finance industry has grown at a rapid pace, it is still far from achieving its true potential with standardisation of sukuk being one of the biggest impediments to its growth, Mr Damak said.
Sharjah energy firm Dana Gas, which restructured its $700 million sukuk after a lengthy legal battle with its creditors last year as it deemed its sukuk non-compliant with Sharia laws, has dented investor confidence, he said. About 25 per cent to one-third of the global investors are from the US and Europe and are reluctant to invest in Sharia-compliant bonds post the Dana Gas episode, he added.
“Some of the investors have altogether exited from sukuk products due to uncertainty attached to it,” he explained. “This is why standardisation is so important.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Ferrari
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The%20Mother%20
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Brighton 1
Gross (50' pen)
Tottenham 1
Kane (48)
