Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia has launched Malaysia’s second cloud-native Islamic digital bank, underscoring yet another promising development in the Islamic digital banking space. Vineeta Tan caught up with Arsalaan (Oz) Ahmed, CEO of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia, to find out about the bank’s digital journey and what it means to the Islamic banking narrative in Malaysia. 

ESG ratings play a critical role in sustainable finance and investment. To learn about the role of sustainability ratings in the Islamic sustainable finance and investment space, ISFI speaks to Magdy Eissa, the vice-president of IdealRatings, a data, screening and ratings provider with a focus on sustainability and Islamic finance solutions.

 Julian Hashim, Chief Regulatory Officer, Bursa Malaysia

 Raja Amir Shah Raja Azwa, CEO, HSBC Amanah

Several market developments in the UK including the closure of Islamic retail banking branches and the suspension of certain Shariah compliant financial products have caused concerns over the state of Islamic finance in the UK. To understand what is going on and what the future holds for the UK, we sit down with Wayne Evans, a senior adviser for International Trade and Investment to TheCityUK, an industry advocacy group promoting the financial and related professional services industry of the UK. 

ESG and sustainability continue to dominate issuer funding strategies. What is a realistic assessment of the instruments and routes on offer to Shariah compliant green issuers, from green bonds and Sukuk, to transition instruments, to sustainable and sustainability linked products? What are key strategic considerations for green bonds and Sukuk issuers: proceeds; process for project evaluation; management of proceeds; reporting; and external review. Why are these metrics so important to issuers and investors alike? With ESG and sustainability influence continuing to grow in the Islamic capital markets issuance, when will we see the enhanced measurement of impact? Do enough issuers engage independent third parties to measure and assess claims of sustainable, green and social credentials, and how can this be increased? How do we fund clean energy, sustainable activities and important concepts such as food security through an effective, liquid Islamic capital market?

What specific challenges face the Islamic, sustainable investor, and what opportunities? As an industry, how do we continue to widen our investor base through the development of appealing investment products that satisfy both ESG and Shariah compliance requirements? How do we capitalize on the green ambitions of Shariah compliant asset owners, institutional investors and investment managers, and take tangible steps to align investment portfolios with taxonomy driven sustainability goals? Can investment and credit portfolios be effectively stress-tested for climate risk, and how do investors satisfy disclosure and data reporting requirements? How can investors more accurately measure the impact of investments made, and what are investors now expecting from issuers in terms of ESG awareness, innovation and compliance? In a highly competitive market, how can investors effectively use ESG data and indices to accurately value portfolios and measure performance? We seek the views of an expert panel.

• How Islamic finance can contribute towards meeting sustainable development and climate goals

• Innovative Shariah-compliant sustainable finance products and solutions to facilitate transition to a greener and low-carbon economy

o Green financing – sustainability-linked financing, term financing, mortgages, hire-purchase, credit cards

o Capital Market – Green sukuk, sustainability linked sukuk, ESG Funds, ESG ETFs, FinTech

• Enhancing and leveraging on Islamic finance to ensure just transition

• Issues, challenges and priorities facing the financial sector in driving climate-related actions, alongside key impediments and gaps in the demand and supply of green solutions, products and services

• Facilitating collaboration between stakeholders, alongside enhancing Shariah-compliant and sustainable finance global thought leadership and capacity building capabilities, in advancing the climate agenda