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The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight of Islamic securitization based on sukuk structures.

Descriptive, analytical, and comparative analyses are used to discuss the risk‐sharing behaviour in Islamic securitization through different structures of mudharabah and musharakah sukuk derived from asset securitization.

The paper reveals that although sukuk are structured in a similar way to conventional asset‐backed securities, they can have significantly different underlying structures, provisions and shariah‐compliant. In particular, it prohibits the receipt and payment of interest and stipulates that income must be derived from an underlying real business risk rather than as a guaranteed return from interest. With regards to sukuk securitization, an asset is one of the vital elements that should exist as an evidence to support the process and make it permissible in Islam. In terms of Islamic securitization mechanism, it can be divided into two principles, namely, debt based and partnership. This paper further emphasizes that sukuk structures based on partnership principle is regarded as risk sharing rather than risk shifting, where it works by combining risk‐exposures in such a way that they offset one another to some degree. Accordingly, overall risk will be less than total risks on individual basis.

This paper has important implication for the understanding of risk management practices particularly in structuring sukuk. Banks as originators and special purpose vehicles (SPV) as issuers, might consider more sukuk on partnership principles since it directed towards risk‐sharing concept that could lead to increase mobilization of savings and investment. As for the investors or sukuk holders, the partnership principle could generate the wealth creation, which to be shared between both investors (fund providers) and issuers (fund users), while both bear the risks involved and the resulting loss.

The paper will fill the gap in the existing literature of Islamic finance by showing that Islamic securitization via sukuk is a viable source of funds that could help stabilize the securities market, and as solution to the current subprime mortgages financial crisis.

This paper aims to explore issues arising from ṣukūk (Islamic bonds) on blockchain, including Sharīʾah (Islamic law) and legal matters.

A qualitative methodology is used in conducting this research where relevant literature on ṣukūk was reviewed. Through a doctrinal approach, the paper presents analyses on the practice of ṣukūk and ṣukūk on blockchain by discussing its legal, Sharīʾah and regulatory issues. This culminates in a conceptual analysis of blockchain ṣukūk and its peculiar challenges.

This paper reveals that digitizing ṣukūk issuance through blockchain remedies certain inefficiencies associated with ṣukūk transactions. Indeed, structuring ṣukūk on a blockchain platform can increase transparency of underlying ṣukūk assets and cash flows in addition to reducing costs and the number of intermediaries in ṣukūk transactions. The paper likewise brings to light legal, regulatory, Sharīʾah and cyber risks associated with ṣukūk on blockchain that confront investors, practitioners and regulators. This calls for deeper collaboration in research among Sharīʾah scholars, lawyers, regulators and information technology experts.

As a pioneering subject, the paper notes the prospects of blockchain ṣukūk and the current dearth of literature on it. The paper would assist relevant Islamic capital market entities and authorities to determine the potential and impact of blockchain ṣukūk in their respective businesses and the financial system.

Blockchain ṣukūk will assist in addressing issues inherent in classical ṣukūk and in paving the way to innovative solutions that will facilitate and enhance the quality of ṣukūk transactions. For that, ṣukūk would require appropriate regulatory technology to address its governance and regulation peculiarities.

Integrating ṣukūk with blockchain technology will add value to it. The paper advances the idea that blockchain ṣukūk revolutionises ṣukūk and enhances its practice against known inadequacies.

The key purpose of this study is to make awareness for faithful Muslims who are interested to invest in Islamic capital markets so as to enable them making right decision while considering investment in Sukuk over conventional interest-bearing bonds.

This study reviews past literature to analyse contemporary Sukuk risks and discusses several mechanisms to mitigate those risks.

The study shows that Sukuk can be good alternatives to conventional bonds. Sukuk structures need to be further developed to fulfil the Sharīʿah compliance requirements.

This study is exploratory in nature, and as such, it seeks to identify the risks related to Sukuk issuance. Given this limitation, it did not provide empirical evidences relating to any specific category of Sukuk risks.

An in-depth knowledge of Sukuk risks would help both academicians and investors understand the potential problems related to Sukuk structures and take precautions in the early stage to prevent causes of being defaulted or bankrupt.

The risks related to Sukuk have been explored in all potential roots. This study has offered some significant techniques to prevent the relevant risks for investors’ benefits. Information being provided throughout this study is expected to serve potential investors in Sukuk as a guide to make right decisions and enable them to minimise the risk to secure healthy returns on their investments.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and detect disclosure on the legitimacy identity of Sukuk structure in Shariah pronouncements. The study also examines the role of Shariah supervisory board on disclosure of legitimacy in Shariah pronouncements.

A total of 54 Islamic Sukuk in Malaysia representing the whole population were selected. Secondary data were used and sourced from Shariah pronouncements on Sukuk. Using descriptive statistics, the existence and the extent of existence of legitimacy disclosure on Sukuk in Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia were ascertained.

Using descriptive statistics, the existence and the extent of existence of legitimacy disclosure on Sukuk in Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia was ascertained. The research found that there is empirical evidence showing the effect of Shariah supervisory board on disclosure of legitimacy identity in Shariah pronouncements.

This study offers significant contribution to existing legitimacy of Sukuk structure literature. The study added a new discussion, i.e. legitimacy disclosure on the Sukuk. The study is intended to increase public awareness for legitimacy identity of Sukuk in the importance of Shariah compliancy not only in the form but also in substance. In addition, this study will give more benefits for Islamic financial institutions in the sense that they should amend some of their regulatory frameworks to push the Sukuk market investors to move toward asset-backed structure.

There is not a comprehensive study which covers the evolution of the Turkish Islamic liquidity management landscape so far. The purpose of this study is to show how Turkish PBs have been gradually furnished with the needed liquidity management instruments by the Turkish Treasury, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and other related regulatory bodies and to analyze the repercussions of the evolution of Islamic liquidity management on balance sheets of participation banks (PBs) over time. This study also aims to come up with some humble policy recommendations that can improve Islamic liquidity management set up going forward.

The study acknowledges that at least two important elements of liquidity management should be in place on the way of improving the Islamic liquidity management environment. The first one is asset side liquidity or having an adequate amount of high-quality liquid assets. The second one is liability side liquidity, meaning that having access to funding liquidity, especially to central bank liquidity. Historical development of liquidity-related asset-side and liability-side balance sheet items between 2010 and 2020 are analyzed and visualized to demonstrate the progress in the Islamic liquidity management landscape in Turkey.

From 2010 to 2020, Turkish financial authorities made a great effort to get PBs to have more proper liquidity management tools. Turkish authorities have leveled the playing field for PBs via enriching liquidity management tools. Government sukuk issuances has filled the liquid asset gap, improved the liquidity profile of PBs and lessened overall liquidity risk while introduced central bank liquidity facilitates have reduced funding liquidity risk. Islamic liquidity management setup is much more advanced and participation banking system is more resilient than the past, but there are still some missing steps that can further ameliorate the Islamic liquidity management ecosystem in Turkey.

This study is a visualized ratio analysis of PB’s improving liquidity profile in the past 10 years and fills an important gap in terms of displaying the overall Islamic liquidity management landscape in Turkey. Further studies and analysis can be built on this paper on Islamic liquidity management, banking and finance in the future. This paper can be a useful basement for researchers who intend to study on potential impacts of improving the liquidity of PBs on monetary transmission, banking profitability and overall banking system systemic risks.

Three different and interconnected areas should be further improved. These are enriching the diversity of government securities, providing central bank liquidity facilities under various available Islamic contracts and establishing an organized Islamic money market which will facilitate fund flows among various Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) and conventional financial institutions. Policymakers should act together, handle arising issues in a holistic manner, design and operationalize these incomplete parts of the puzzle to further optimize the playing field for the IFIs. Thus, there will be a more inclusive and competitive finance industry in which all risks are better managed and resources are more efficiently allocated.

Although various other studies are available on the Turkish Islamic banking industry, there is not such a specific study on Islamic liquidity management of Turkish PBs which makes this study a preliminary and different one. Apart from shedding light on the Turkish journey that has built a sound Islamic liquidity management infrastructure in the past 10 year, this study also shows an exemplary country experience in developing a more inclusive and robust financial ecosystem. This paper also contributes to financial development and inclusion literature as a policy paper.

This paper aims to discuss the urgent need to develop a sound and robust universal framework that would prove helpful in creating uniform acceptability of Islamic financial instruments. Among many problems, a particular problem in developing a uniform global framework for Islamic financial instruments is the existence of different madhahib within Islamic Fiqh. The leading and the most prominent Sunni madhahib that have survived till today are four, the Hanbali, Shafi, Maliki and Hanafi, while the most prominent Shia madhab is the Jafari madhab.

The research approach was descriptive and exploratory in nature. Secondary resources were used except for a semi-structured interview with a Shariah scholar with the justification that his knowledge and experience regarding the subject matter may prove helpful. The methodology included a systematic review of already issued Sukuk by various madhahib. Compared to a simple narrative review of a few case studies regarding Sukuk, this methodology has a benefit to provide the reader the power to assess the review and even replicate it. The results of this systematic review are summarized in the form of tables.

Ingredients were determined that would help make a truly global Sukuk security, a model acceptable to all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. These ingredients include rentals, relationship between special purpose vehicle (SPV) and originator, transference to SPV, Sukuk structure, guarantee, liquidity, listing and tradability, convertibility, subordination and post-Ijarah price. Moreover, specific steps were also analyzed that must be taken to issue such type of Sukuk al-Ijarah.

This study is focused only on a type of Islamic financial instrument, i.e. Sukuk whose underlying was Ijarah-based contracts. This is due to lesser global acceptability for other Islamic financial instruments including other forms of Sukuk. Based on the nature of study, purposive/judgmental sampling was done. The sample population was 40 Sukuk (nine each from Hanafi, Shafi and Maliki madhahib, five each from Hanbali and Jafari madhahib and three from non-Muslim zones). Some Sukuk were dropped due to non-availability of enough data and to keep some semblance between the impact of the madhab on financial world and the data.

For practitioners and regulators, on the basis of the given recommendations, it would be possible to create a standardized product, acceptable for all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. This standardization will lead to a unified platform that can attract a larger investor pool as well as better integration. For practical purposes, the proposed model of Sukuk al-Ijarah can be replicated for other Islamic financial instruments for global acceptability.

For an Islamic society, the expansion of Islamic economic system depends principally on unity. So integration is critical and also essential for the success of any Islamic financial instrument. When the society will move away from Riba and its associated evil, the society will move in a positive direction, while still making profits. The proposed model may also be utilized for socially responsible initiatives like protection of natural resources, advancement of renewable energy, economic development and rehabilitation to name a few.

Previous studies were silent on the development of comprehensive frameworks acceptable to all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. This research study is the first study of its kind and is the first step toward integration, as it would try to suggest a global framework for Sukuk al-Ijarah that can be acceptable by the followers of any madhab of Islamic Fiqh.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of the determinants (pricing, type of structure, Shariah auditing, Shariah risk and Shariah documentation) and the sukuk legitimacy among Islamic financial institutions using a qualitative approach. The paper further explained the significance of the determinants on legitimacy, evaluated the relationship between sukuk characteristics and sukuk legitimacy and examined the moderating effect of Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) on the relationship.

The study used a purposive sampling technique to select the target respondents required for the survey (semi-structured interview). This technique is applied by selecting members of SSBs among Islamic financial institutions. A total number of ten members are selected as the sample size for the study based on their experience and basic knowledge of Fiqh Al-Mua’malat and its application in Islamic financial institutions.

The findings revealed that the determinants have a significant impact on the sukuk legitimacy, meaning that there is a positive and significant relationship between the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy. In addition, this study indicates the empirical evidence of the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship between the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy.

This study has added to the literature by examining the determinants of sukuk legitimacy while evaluating the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship. Besides, this might add benefits to the numerous Islamic financial institutions relating to the amendment of its regulatory frameworks with the view to pushing the sukuk market investors to move toward asset-backed structure. In addition, the SSB in central banks must also focus its attention regarding the sukuk legitimacy and its application among the various Islamic financial institutions.

This study has added a new discussion to the body of knowledge, i.e. examining the sukuk legitimacy and its relationship with sukuk determinants; hence, an approach that is not widely discussed in the previous studies. Furthermore, conducting such research in the field of Islamic finance provides novelty in the literature among both emerging and developed economies including Malaysia. This is because to the best knowledge of the researchers, there was no empirical study (within the literature) that combined these variables and evaluated their empirical significance. Accordingly, this would enlighten the Islamic Ummah and propel the society’s intensity toward contributing to knowledge and might further provide clarification on the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy to prospective scholars, precisely on the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship between determinants and legitimacy of sukuk.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of different sukuk structures from a financial perspective. This examination includes murabahah and ijara‐based sukuk, the former offering a fixed return, and the latter, the most popular form of sukuk, a variable return. The potential for other more novel sukuk structures based on musharakah partnership contracts is also examined, and sukuk pricing issues are explored using alternative benchmarks to London Inter‐bank Offer Rate.

Flow charts are used to illustrate the financial transfers and the rights and obligations of sukuk investors as well as the beneficiaries of the funding. Historical data have used to assess whether the payments flows are more stable in the case of sovereign sukuk where the returns are based on gross domestic product (GDP) growth rather than interest.

The paper finds that special purpose vehicles are a prerequisite for the successful issuance and management of sukuk. The use of GDP‐based pricing benchmarks would have resulted in greater payments stability for sovereign debt in Saudi Arabia, but not for Malaysia.

The data analysis was restricted to two countries, but this could be extended. Alternative pricing benchmarks were suggested for sovereign sukuk but not for corporate sukuk.

Ministries of Finance and Central Banks of Muslim countries should review their debt financing policies and explore the potential of sovereign sukuk.

Little has been written previously on the use of musharakah partnership contracts for sukuk, and pricing issues have not hitherto been systematically investigated.

Islamic Finance and Investment

Level of program/audience: Advanced undergraduate and postgraduate.

Intermediate and Advanced Finance, Economics, Islamic Economics & Finance, Islamic Banking & Finance, Islamic Capital Market and other relevant courses.

Capital markets instruments, conventional or Islamic.

This case focuses on Tracoma Holding Berhad Bai Bithaman Ajil Debt Securities (BaIDS) amounting to RM 100 million which was issued by Tracoma Holding Berhad in 2005. It was the first issuance of a sukuk (Islamic debt securities or bond) by the company. The proceeds were used to finance its growth and to repay existing bank borrowings and capital requirements. This case is interesting, as it allows students to study the bai bithaman ajil sukuk structure and issuance process in the Malaysian capital market. It also provides basic financial transaction and credit rating of sukuk which requires analytical skills. Being a debt-based facility, the sukuk was subjected to credit rating evaluation by the MARC, the rating agency appointed by the company. Further downgrading of the sukuk meant it would lead to the worst-case scenario. Some actions needed to be taken to solve this issue; therefore, the CFO suggested an urgent meeting with the sukuk holders.

The students should be able to: understand the issuance process and the principle of BBA (bai bithamin ajil) in sukuk structure; understand reason(s) methods of fund raising by firm and the allocations of fund; understand the sukuk default issue; analyze the reasons for sukuk default; understand the importance of debt securities credit ratings; and identify investors' protection in the case of sukuk default.

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The purpose of this study is to provide a critical review on how the Khazanah’s Sukuk Ihsan was structured in compliance with the requirements for issuance of Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) sukuk set by the Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia.

To explain the structures and features of the Sukuk Ihsan, this study extracted important information from the sukuk’s Principle Terms and Conditions and Information Memorandum and presented them in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Next, this study refers to Part D: Requirement for Issuance, Offering or Invitation to Subscribe or Purchase Sustainable and Responsible Investment Sukuk of the SC’s Guidelines on Sukuk (revised edition: 28 August 2014) to assess the compliance of the sukuk in terms of eligibility of SRI sukuk issuer and SRI projects, use of proceeds, reporting and disclosure and independent assessment on SRI programmes. In addition, this study then compares the requirements stated in the SC’s SRI Sukuk Framework with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the USA’s Social Impact Bond (SIB) Act 2014.

The present study finds that the definition of eligible SRI sukuk issuer in the Guidelines on Sukuk seems to be more stringent compared to the one provided in the GBP and the US’ SIB Act. Nevertheless, the SRI Sukuk Framework provides a more comprehensive yet precise list of eligible SRI projects, covering both environmental and social aspects, compared to the GBP (which only focuses on broad categories of environmental projects) and also the USA’s SIB Act (explicitly outlines 13 social projects which are aligned with the US Federal Government’s agenda in tackling social illnesses). Indeed, the main difference between the eligible SRI sukuk projects and its conventional counterparts lies in its compliance to Shariah principles. It is also observed that a significant emphasis has been given on SRI legislations in ensuring proper reporting and disclosure provided to the SRI sukuk stakeholders together with critical evaluation on the impacts of SRI programmes provided by an independent assessor.

This paper contributes towards enriching the literature on the Islamic capital market, particularly on the integration between sukuk and social impacts investing. This paper was intended to highlight the important requirements in issuing SRI sukuk to various stakeholders of the Islamic capital market.

The authors hope to shed some lights on the unique features and structural applications of SRI sukuk and its importance in becoming an effective instrument to raise funds for social agenda of a country by providing a real and practical example.