Zawya announced the launch of its first ever Collaborative Sukuk Report with the aim of addressing the barriers faced by the global Sukuk industry. The credit crisis has opened many new avenues for Islamic finance, and it has emerged as an ethical and risk-averse investment opportunity for many investors (professionals) globally. Yet when it comes to Sukuk (Shariah-compliant Bonds), transparency, liquidity in both primary and secondary markets, connectivity between the buy-side and sell-side, as well as understanding the financial concepts of Shariah to successfully structure a Sukuk, are still preventing investors and arrangers from benefiting from these opportunities.
To address these gaps, Zawya gathered the world's leading Islamic finance professionals to collaborate on finding potential solutions to problems hindering the growth of the global Sukuk industry today.
The Collaborative Sukuk Report summarizes these contributions in order to promote the sustainable growth and transparency of the industry. The structure of the report consists of a series of thought leadership articles, including a contribution from Dr Nasser Al Saidi's, Chief Economist at DIFC and Executive Director at Hawkamah, who partnered with Zawya to design this initiative. A comprehensive survey was then carried out by Zawya's Islamic Finance analysts, apart from a trend analysis on the Sukuk industry in partnership with Ernst and Young.
Dr Saidi said: "Fund raising through Islamic bonds (Sukuk) has gained rapid acceptance in major global markets due to its relative stability, ethical character as well as its asset-based nature which makes it a promising asset class and investment security for many investors. However, its full potential is yet to be realised, mainly because it still is a mysterious instrument for many international investors. The Collaborative Sukuk Report helps dispel the mystery and exposes the full potential of the Islamic Sukuk and the emerging International Islamic Securities Market (ISM)."
Zawya Chief Executive Ihsan JawadIhsan Jawad explains why the initiative: "The ultimate purpose of Islamic finance is to help others build and improve their livelihoods as opposed to achieving hyper profits and the blind pursuit of growth for its own sake. In return for their help, Islamic finance players should command a fair reward based on their efforts and participation rather than a return on capital at risk. The practical role of Islamic finance is to encourage and institute risk sharing among as many participants as possible in order for new and real economic activities to prosper. To help Islamic finance claim its rightful role, Zawya aims to empower professionals the world over with the means to identify, assess and monitor true Islamic finance opportunities across the globe. That is the reasoning behind Zawya's first annual Collaborative Sukuk Report".
By engaging the community of Islamic Finance professionals through discussion and debate of the current challenges faced by the industry, the Zawya Collaborative Sukuk Report's aim is to build on this community by addressing the issues in a collaborative effort that will fuel real economic growth and prosperity as opposed to being a self-centered community that feeds on the hard work of good businesses from across the economy.
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About Hawkamah
Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, constitutes a groundbreaking development for institution building, corporate sector reform, sound banking and financial sector development, good governance, sustainable economic development and growth in the region. Hawkamah's mission is to assist the countries and companies of the region to develop sound and globally well-integrated corporate governance frameworks. Hawkamah is an international association that aims to efficiently coordinate and sequence the designing, planning and implementation of corporate governance reforms and monitoring the outcome of corporate governance policies at the private sector level. Hawkamah is supported by international and regional organizations such as the International Finance Corporation, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Institute of Finance, Center for International Private Enterprise, Union of Arab Banks, Dubai International Financial Centre, among others.
About Zawya: Zawya focuses on the developing business and investment environment in the Middle East. The company provides professionals with the means to identify, assess and monitor business and investment opportunities in both private and public markets. Thousands of premium members utilise Zawya's information resources, technology applications and online network to better connect to opportunities across the GCC, Levant, Iraq and North Africa. Headquartered in Dubai, Zawya has presence in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Lebanon.
Its flagship service, Zawya Investor, provides paid members access to insights that are "from the region, to the region" to help them identify the best investment opportunities in the Middle East. With high profile Zawya Dow Jones journalists breaking the most important stories and Zawya's own team of financial experts providing in-depth analysis, Zawya Investor offers unique coverage of the region's IPO, Public & Private Equity, Funds, and Global Sukuk industries.
In the Islamic space, Zawya has a dedicated a team of three analysts that focus on highlighting opportunities in the global Islamic Finance sector, with particular emphasis on Sukuk, by bridging the buy side, sell side and all relevant players in the industry. All members can register to the Zawya Network, an online network enabling them to forge valuable relationships with fellow professionals, and share in the knowledge and experience of the business and investment community focusing on the Middle East. In the Zawya Network, over 500 members are part of the Islamic Finance and Sukuk groups.
For more information please contact:
Shaima Al Zarouni
Assistant PR Manager
Dubai International Financial Centre
Tel: +971 4 362 2432
E-mail: shaima.alzarouni@difc.ae
Iman Ahmad
Regional Media Relations Manager
Dubai International Financial Centre
Tel: +971 50 2058021
E-mail: iman.ahmad@difc.ae
Nova Ghadri
Media Executive
Dubai International Financial Centre
Tel: +971 4 362 2499
E-mail: nova.ghadri@difc.ae
Zawya Islamic Finance Division
Tel: (+9714) 363-5660
E-mail: sukuk@zawya.com
Website: www.zawya.com/sukuk/report
Mohannad El-Khairy
Head of Membership Communication Strategy
Zawya
Tel: (+9714) 363-5660
E-mail: marketing@zawya.com
© Press Release 2009
from Dubai International Financial Centre
