Islamic asset managers in conventional banking and funding hubs are expanding to the GCC and OIC, with Hong Kong’s Premia Partners being the latest to pivot towards some of the world’s biggest Shariah markets after rolling out an inaugural investment-grade Saudi government Sukuk ETF for Asia.
Hillcore Group is showing practice is more important for Shariah compliance than certification. The Canadian firm has integrated Shariah principles into its PE fund structures since 2012 without any Fatwa guidance – underscoring its respect for global Muslims and the ethical investing opportunities they offer.
Account pledges are emerging as a crucial instrument for Shariah project financing in Tunisia, affording lenders enhanced control and visibility over cash flows and providing borrowers flexible collateral options as the North African nation embarks on major power, oil and gas as well as mining works.
Asia Vision Capital’s dual-fund approach – conventional and Shariah – for the same asset in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone signals a practical accommodation of different investment mandates for the best outcome.
Asset growth
Global Islamic balanced funds exhibited varied regional performance in Q1 2025, with overall AuM growing 12.96% from US$10.65 billion to US$12.03 billion, as tracked by the IFN Investor Funds Database. Europe spearheaded the growth, with more than a 16-fold jump to US$806.71 million, largely propelled by the launch of four new Shariah compliant balanced funds in Luxembourg.
On the global Sukuk front, regional funds presented disparate Q1 performances, with Asia Pacific maintaining the largest AuM at US$5.38 billion while Europe again dominated growth, expanding 37.99% to US$2.81 billion.
Deals and offerings
UAE luxury properties developer Binghatti Holding’s new Shariah compliant asset management arm, Binghatti Capital, is tasked with managing approximately US$1 billion in private credit and real estate strategies for institutional and qualified investors.
RHB Asset Management launched the dollar-denominated RHB Shariah Multi Asset Fund for sophisticated investors to gain access to the HSBC Global Funds ICAV – Shariah Multi Asset Fund that opens pathways to equities, fixed income, collective investment schemes, transferable securities, cash and foreign direct investments.
SAB Invest has successfully exited its first real estate investment, the Azure Lamara compound, for SAR268 million (US$71.47 million). This generated a 35% total ROI in under two years, while its local real estate portfolio currently stands at approximately SAR3 billion (US$800 million).
Private investment firm Siraj Holding is expanding into Shariah compliant strategic consultancy and M&A advisory services through a new joint venture, AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, formed with Hong Kong-based AWR Lloyd to serve clients across the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa.
In Bangladesh, Prime Bank Investment signed an MoU with Shariah advisory firm IFA Consultancy to promote Islamic finance and investments.
Pakistani investment advisory and brokerage JS Global Capital has opened a new branch in Lahore to offer Islamic solutions, appointing Azeem Tariq Butt as branch head.
Fintech
Indonesian fintech company BMoney has enhanced its privilege investment platform by adding Batavia India Sharia Equity USD, a Shariah compliant mutual fund from Batavia Prosperindo Aset Manajemen, that holds Indian equities.
MBSB Bank in Malaysia enabled investments into Shariah compliant unit trust funds to be transacted via the iFast digital platform.
In the UK, Sama Capital is merging with fractional property investment platform Yielders.
Funding Societies Malaysia, an SME digital finance platform, has formalized a partnership with CEDAR, the training and capacity-building arm of SME Bank Malaysia, to mobilize up to RM50 million (US$11.77 million) in customized financing that would include Shariah compliant solutions supporting credit access for Malaysian SMEs.
New York-based NGO Acumen invested US$1 million via a Shariah structure in KIMS Microfinance, the largest microfinance institution in Somalia, to support the scaling of its rural off-grid solar power projects.
Regulatory initiatives
Uzbekistan is preparing to launch its first Shariah compliant investment fund of US$100 million by the end of 2025 to support MSMEs.
Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority granted Erada Finance a pioneering license to offer Islamic non-bank financial products including Murabahah and other Shariah compliant investment solutions, making it the first local company with the rights to do so.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority has advanced into the next phase of its Tokenisation Regulatory Sandbox, engaging selected firms from its Innovation Testing Licence program. Several proposed Shariah compliant models including the tokenization of Sukuk and Islamic fund units, among the 96 global applications received.
Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a consultation paper proposing amendments to the Voluntary Pension System Rules 2005, primarily to allow employer pension funds to serve multiple employers under a common fund structure, aiming to enhance scalability, improve cost-efficiency and broaden retirement coverage, especially for SMEs.
Nigerian pension funds’ total investments in federal government (FGN) Sukuk amounted to NGN9.25 billion (US$5.99 million) at the end of Q1 2025, representing a mere 0.6% of their total NGN14.48 trillion (US$93.85 billion) holdings in FGN bonds, which predominantly comprise conventional instruments.
Enowa, the energy and water company of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, is in a long-term agreement with the Voluntary Carbon Market Company to deliver approximately 30 million tons of carbon credits by 2030, a deal which could potentially establish these carbon credits as underlying assets for Islamic finance transactions.
The Saudi Capital Market Authority approved a license for Sharaka Capital Company to conduct advising activities in the securities business.
Moves
Dentons has announced the relocation of corporate partner Nik Colbridge from London to its Dubai office, aimed at expanding its equity capital markets practice across the Middle East, leveraging his expertise in public and private international equity, securities offerings and joint ventures since joining the firm in 2015.
Pheng Leong Tan resigned as CFO of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam after an eight-year tenure, with June 13th, 2025, marking his final day.
Law firm Latham & Watkins has significantly bolstered its team by hiring an 11-strong group from rival A&O Shearman, following the April 2025 arrival of industry veterans Franz Ranero and Jeremiah Wagner. The firm is reportedly building a transatlantic private capital offering encompassing collateralized loan obligations, asset-backed lending and fund finance – key foundations for popular Shariah compliant instruments in the Middle East.
