Yearly Archives: 2021
IFN Sri Lanka OnAir Forum 2021
Brave New World: Islamic Finance in Sri Lanka What does the Sri Lankan Islamic finance landscape, including Takaful, look like in 2021 and what does the domestic Islamic finance ecosystem still require from regulators and market participants for it to flourish across multiple product areas and asset classes? How can regulatory frameworks and legal codes be developed and implemented? With such measures in place, what would constitute success for Islamic finance and Takaful in Sri Lanka? What role is Islamic Finance set to play in the recovery of the Sri Lankan economy? Can Islamic finance, including Sukuk, be deployed to fund the Sri Lankan corporate and government-linked sector, as well as infrastructure development? Are the salient features and benefits of…
The IFN Green and Sustainable Finance and Investment Dialogue
With COP26 fresh in our minds, what steps can regional governments, policy and standards setters, regulators and financial institutions take to align ESG and sustainable finance and investment with the collective problems it is trying to address, such as climate change? Having witnessed unprecedented recent growth, what, on macro and micro levels, is the sustainable and ESG investment industry today, and what is it not? What investment products and styles do different ESG investors now demand, how can their requirements be satisfied and is there an increasing divergence between Institutional versus retail, and active versus passive? With significant existing convergence between Shariah compliant assets and sustainable investing, what opportunities are there for financing and investment products that satisfy both? Locally,…
Green, Social, Transition and Sustainability-Linked Finance and Investment – Shariah Compliant Options
Green, Social, Transition and Sustainability-Linked Finance and Investment – Shariah Compliant Options As host of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in November, the UK has an opportunity to drive an important agenda. However, alongside ‘Transition to Net Zero’ and decarbonisation targets, what is realistically achievable and what does net zero mean for sectors such as aviation, oil and gas and other asset-based industries? How are Shariah compliant financing products and assets playing a role in this hugely important transition? How also are Shariah compliant assets funding social impact initiatives in the UK, while contributing to the achievement of the UN SDGs and the Paris Accord? Is a UK sovereign sustainability Sukuk viable in the short term? Beyond the UK,…
Funding Opportunities and Growth: GCC Islamic Corporate Finance and Capital Markets
What do GCC credit markets look like in the coming 12 months, what are the options for potential corporate, sovereign and supranational issuers? How influential are oil prices on regional Islamic capital markets? What are investors demanding in terms of pricing, tenor, rating, structure, as well as other factors such as ESG? What do the major GCC centres offer as listing destinations for Sukuk issuance, as well as other products such as investment trusts and ETFs? How can Shariah compliant instruments, including Sukuk, be further applied to the funding of alternative asset classes in the region? How is technology such as blockchain shaping and influencing Islamic corporate finance and capital markets, considering notable recent innovations by GCC Islamic banks? Finally,…