While the US stirred up tariff turmoil around the globe last week, India and Malaysia took steps to tighten domestic regulatory measures related to Islamic assets and investments.
Global tumult
Shariah indices were dragged into a global equities rout that saw some US$6.6 trillion wiped off US stock values alone over two days, according to Dow Jones market data, after the Trump administration announced on the 2nd April 2025 sweeping tariffs applicable to almost every trading partner.
So, while being overweight on US stocks may have boosted global Islamic indices and consequent investments earnings in recent times, this rout further cements the Q1 2025 trend that showed how overexposed some Shariah indices were to the US tariff shockwaves.
Regulatory impact
India’s upper Parliamentary House Rajya Sabha passed the controversial new Waqf bill by 128:95 after the lower Parliamentary House Lok Sabha cleared it 288:232. This became law after India’s President Droupadi Murmu granted assent on the 6th April 2025 to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025.
Malaysia, a pioneer in Islamic investing guidelines, tightened preference share issuance requirements for unlisted public companies after complaints related to fundraising misconduct among such firms that included Shariah compliant ones.
The Securities Commission Malaysia decided on the revamped action for unlisted public companies after encountering malpractices such as unrealistic promises of dividends and returns, offering of shares meant for sophisticated investors to retail investors without prospectus, and the appointment of unlicensed marketing agents.
The world’s largest Muslim population, Indonesia – now Asia Pacific’s third-largest Islamic funds market, according to the IFN Investor Funds Database – has the potential to surge ahead by boosting domestic financial literacy while enhancing Shariah regulations and product offerings.
Deals
Kenya’s Standard Investment Bank is on the cusp of launching its own Shariah compliant pension scheme – having inked deals to provide Islamic investment windows within pension funds already operating at several local institutions.
UAE’s Beehive P2P, which offers Shariah compliant options, secured structured funding commitment from Goldman Sachs Bank USA and mezzanine participation from Magellan Capital for an initial AED500 million (US$136.15 million).
Also in the UAE, Emirates NBD announced that it will acquire 100% ownership of Emirates Islamic Bank following its mandatory cash offer at AED11.95 (US$3.25) per share.
Emirates NBD was also one four banks approved by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority to deal in government securities and financial instruments in the secondary market.
The Kuwaiti Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has granted a special marketing license to the National Investment Company, Bayt.com Capital Investment Company and Warba Bank to privately market Islamic funds.
Kuwait Financial Centre, better known as Markaz, is looking to invest significantly in international real estate opportunities in 2025, with a focus on Europe and the US.
Qatar’s Lesha Bank has acquired a total of four Airbus A350-1000 aircraft through two separate transactions valued at approximately QAR980 million (US$269.23 million) and QAR954 million (US$262.08 million), respectively. Lesha earlier bought five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in December 2024.
San Francisco-headquartered Partners for Growth (PFG) has committed up to GBP25 million (US$32.46 million) to Ayan Capital, a digital Halal car financing provider. With roots in Central Asia, Ayan entered the UK car market in 2023 as part of a European expansion strategy and to lay the ground for its long-term ambition of setting up an Islamic digital bank.
Halal filter
TD Direct Investing’s online asset broking service WebBroker added a Halal-friendly filter to enable investors to search for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that align with Shariah principles and socially responsible investing to aid investors looking at both the Canadian and US markets.
Fintech
Stablecoin $ST is to be onboarded by April 2025 on GreenX, a Shariah compliant exchange, under a collaboration between $ST issuer PIH and GreenX operator Greenpro Capital, a NASDAQ-listed Kuala Lumpur-based company.
Moves
Malaysian government-linked private equity firm Ekuiti Nasional (Ekuinas) will be placed under Permodalan Nasional as part of the government’s ongoing plan to consolidate indigenous Malaysian investment institution. Aside from its corporate consolidation, Ekuinas was also in the news for making Investment Senior Director Aliff Omar Mohamad Omar acting CEO from the 1st April 2025, replacing Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir – who had been at the helm since 2016.
