Standard & Poor's Publishes Islamic Finance Outlook 2009 |
|
Share With Members!
DUBAI, May 12 2009: Standard & PoorStandard & Poor
's today announced the release of Islamic Finance Outlook 2009, its latest annual compendium of topical research and commentaries on Islamic finance. The new yearbook includes Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's latest analysis and rating methodologies on almost 40 rated Islamic debt issues and issuers, and an overview of its suite of global benchmark and investable Sharia indices. While total global sukuk issuance more than halved to $14.9 billion in 2008 from $34 billion in the previous year, Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's believes the outlook for Islamic finance remains strong. Sharia-compliant assets now total about $700 billion after growth exceeding 10% annually during the past decade.
"The sukuk market suffered heavily in 2008 but we believe the outlook for asset-backed sukuk is positive, despite the doubts raised by the disruption in global financial markets and in structured finance," said Mohamed Damak, credit analyst at Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's Ratings Services. "When economies begin pulling out of the downturn, we expect Islamic finance to resume its rapid growth. The long-term pipeline for sukuk issuance is healthy, and the market is attracting interest from an increasing number of issuers in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries."
Mr Damak said Islamic financial institutions have remained somewhat insulated from the global financial downturn because Sharia law strictly prohibits them from handling interest-based instruments. The knock-on effects of the current economic slowdown, however, are pressuring Islamic financial institutions and creating new obstacles for their development.
"We see specific sources of risk stemming from the deepening economic slowdown in many countries, scarce liquidity, pronounced stock market declines, and plummeting real estate prices," Mr Damak added. "Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's has taken some negative rating actions on some Islamic banks over the past six months to reflect these adverse changes."
Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's continues to widen its coverage of Islamic finance and issued several new ratings on sukuk transactions and takaful companies during 2008, including Tabreed 08 Financing Corp (National Central Colling Co PJSC) and the three tranches of a sukuk issued by Sun Finance Ltd. (Sorouh Abu Dhabi Real Estate LLC).
"Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's continues to foresee a bright future for Islamic finance and is committed to supporting its expansion by providing objective and independent opinions and benchmarks for Islamic issuers and investors," said Jan Willem Plantagie, Middle East Regional Manager at Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's. "Through our knowledge of Islamic finance and its key players, we consistently aim to share objective and accurate insights in this developing realm of global finance for the benefit of all investors."
-Ends-
About Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's in the Gulf Cooperation Council
Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's is the leading provider of financial market intelligence to customers in the Gulf's credit risk management, wealth management, and data and information markets. Since entering the region in the early 1990's, Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's has become the largest provider of credit ratings in the G.C.C, rating 114 issuers. In equity markets, Shariah-compliant versions of Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's global and regional equity market indices - S&P 500, S&P Europe 350, S&P Japan 500 and S&P/IFCI GCC - have created new opportunities for Islamic investors to benchmark their international investments and for asset managers to create new investment products serving the Islamic community. Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's Fund Services launched a qualitative fund management rating service for regional asset managers in 2007. For further details on Standard & PoorStandard & Poor's regional capabilities please visit www.gcc.standardandpoors.com
A full copy of the S&P Islamic Finance 2009 Credit Survey is available for download at www.gcc.standardandpoors.com
For further information, please contact:
London Press Office:
London: +44 20 7176 3605
Dubai Press Office: +971 4709 6830
Press Office Contacts:
London: +44 20 7176 3605
Dubai: +971 4709 6830
Paris: +33 1 44 20 6740
Frankfurt: +49 69 33999 225
Milan: +39 02 72 111 245
Madrid: +34 91 389 6944
Moscow: +7 495 783 4011
Stockholm: +46 8 440 5914
© Press Release 2009
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Comment on this article 
Loading ...-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Loading ...Stories
Companies
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Barwa Real Estate Company | Qatar | Landlords and Developers |
| Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company | UAE | Oil |
| Ministry of Health - Kuwait | Kuwait | Ministries and Municipalities |
| Dubai Electricity and Water Authority | UAE | Electric Utilities |
| Ministry of Health - Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Ministries and Municipalities |
Projects
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Aramco/Dow Chemical - Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi Ports Company - Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| ADNOC/ConocoPhillips - Sour Gas Fields Development - Shah Field | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Dubai Racing Club - Meydan City - Meydan Racecourse | UAE | Real Estate |
