Industry Article

Minister of Home Affairs Azleen Ahmed has launched the 2nd International Halal Management Conference (IHMC) on the 18th July 2018 at the Maldives National University (MNU). The IHMC was organized by the Maldives Center for Islamic Finance (MCIF) and the MNU along with Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. More than 50 international speakers representing more than five countries participated in the conference.

The 2nd Maldives Islamic Banking and Finance (MIBFI) Conference has acted as a forum where the Islamic banking and finance fraternity converge to discuss a plethora of issues. While the local players took center stage, the participation of foreign delegates complemented the Maldivian participants in engaging one another in discussions relating to the future prospects of the Islamic banking and finance industry in Maldives and beyond. This year's theme of the conference was 'Creating a center of Islamic Finance'.

The Maldives has embarked on the huge task of developing Islamic finance parallel to its existing conventional finance market. After establishing its very first Islamic bank in March 2011, the country also witnessed the issuance of its first Islamic equity in 2011. The first company in Maldives that was listed as a company issuing Shariah compliant equity was Amana Takaful Maldives. The country is subsequently moving towards the development of a sukuk market.

Microfinance is a new concept in the Maldives. In 2015, the first Islamic microfinance scheme was introduced under the name of "FaseyhaMadadhu" with assistance from Islamic Development Bank. The products developed under this scheme were unique as it was shaped by looking at local needs. This paper will discuss these products and the features of it. It is hard to find literature about the subject matter as this is a newly introduced scheme and the first-hand experience of the author in structuring and implementing the scheme has been relied extensively. It is anticipated that the outcome of this paper will pave the way for those jurisdictions that aim to introduce Islamic microfinance

Ever heard of an occasion where property has been used to generate revenue to a waqf fund? Well, here's one. It's called the Dharul Eeman project and is being tried and tested in the Maldives. We hope that its success story will be an inspiration to other countries who wish to adopt a similar approach to enrich their cash waqf funds. This project is proof that innovation is the key to developing an Islamic economy. This model is unique as the general norm is to develop properties to generate income from waqf lands; but in this case the Ministry of Islamic Affairs is intending to develop a land in order to generate income for a cash waqf fund which will be used to build, repair and maintain mosques all over the nation.

An abstract is written in Arabic.

An abstract is written in Arabic.

An abstract is written in Arabic.

Amana Takaful Maldives (Amana Takaful) held its eighth annual general meeting (AGM) on the 28th April 2019 in the Republic of Maldives. During the meeting, the minutes of the 2018 AGM were adopted and the annual report of the board of directors on the affairs of the company for the year ended the 31st December 2018 and the report of the auditors were passed, among other things.

Amana Takaful Maldives has announced the declaration of dividends for the year 2022. During the 12th Annual General Meeting held on the 22nd May 2023, shareholders approved a final dividend of 15% on the face value of each share. The total amount of this dividend is MVR3.95 million (US$255,819). When combined with the interim dividend paid in November 2022, the total dividend for the year 2022 amounts to MVR6.58 million (US$426,150). The books for dividend distribution were closed on the 10th May 2023, and only shareholders registered on or before that date are eligible to receive the dividends. According to Section 55(a)(4) of the Income Tax Act (Law No 25/2019), the company is required to deduct 10% from the dividends paid to non-resident shareholders. If it is unclear whether a shareholder is a resident in the Maldives, they will be treated as a non-resident, and the company will deduct a non-resident withholding tax of 10% from their dividend payment. Shareholders are encouraged to update their residency status with the company. On the 13th May 2023, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Amana Takaful Maldives signed an MoU to establish a collaborative partnership.

Amana Takaful Maldives (Amana Takaful) has announced its interim dividend payment to its shareholders for the year 2017 based on its commendable performance. Amana Takaful reported a profit of MVR4.8 million (US$307,625) in the first seven months, ending July 2017, compared to a growth of 21% over the same period in 2016. In addition, gross written premiums worth MVR80 million (US$5.13 million) were recorded, showing a notable growth with higher volumes in the leading classes.

Failures of major financial institutions globally that have supposedly audited has led to major criticism of the auditing profession. The collapse of many large companies and the demise of one of the major auditing firm, Arthur Andersen, have damaged the credibility of financial statements and undermined the reputation of audit profession. Among the many explanations for these failures (like investors’ irrational exuberance, infectious greed, and foolishness; the bursting of the bubble; the impoverished morality of CEOs), the tendency of management to cook the books; the failure of the gatekeepers; and the ambiguities in application of financial reporting standards, which have encouraged auditors to be creative and apply their accounting gimmicks, are directly related to the auditing profession.

The Bank of Maldives has announced the appointment of Hassan Kalaam as the new director of Islamic banking in a press release dated the 7th February 2022. Hassan is a licensed Shariah advisor with more than 10 years of experience in the financial services and banking industry. Since joining the bank in 2013, Hassan has played a key role in contributing to the success of the bank's steadily growing Islamic banking arm.

A new Islamic deposit account, the Wadiah Business Account, has been introduced by BML Islamic, the Islamic finance arm of the Bank of Maldives (BML) on the 7th December 2015. The tagline used in the introduction of this type of account is: The Shariah compliant current account facility for your business. This newly introduced account is not merely an account with a current account facility but it provides added services such as instant and secure internet banking and professional support through the BML Islamic Advice Center for more advanced Islamic banking-related advisory services.

In today’s increasingly challenging era, the financial sector has a significant role in catalysing the global transition to sustainable development and shared prosperity. Sustainability can be practiced from the inside (financial institutions’ internal operation) to the outside (financial institutions’ financing and investment). Yet, can banks do well while doing good? Does a bank that improves its economic, environmental, social and governance performance increase, decrease, or leave unchanged its financial performance? Is the banking sector up to the challenge as the steward of long-term capital, preserving and enhancing different types of capital in the value creation process?

The objective of these institutions is to achieve social justice. Important among their functions is reduction in uncertainty for members of society in order to allow them to overcome the obstacles to decision making caused by paucity of information. Rules specify what kind of conduct is most appropriate to achieving just results when individuals face alternative choices and must take action. They impose restrictions on what society's members can do without upsetting the social order on whose existence all members count in deciding on their own actions and forming their expectations of others' responses and actions.

The opposition coalition that won the presidential election in the Maldives on the 23rd September 2018 has the first-ever political manifesto to contain a special agenda for the development of Islamic fi nance, demonstrating the evergrowing demand for Islamic finance in the Maldives.

The Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) is the regulator for the capital markets in the Maldives. In May 2011, the CMDA took the initiative to develop a fully-fledged Islamic capital market in the Maldives and the first step towards this vision was to establish a Capital Market Shariah Advisory Committ ee (CMSAC).

Halal and haram is a concept which every Muslim must adhere to in all their daily affairs. Halal and haram are not terminologies relevant only for food or consumable items. In Shari'ah, the concept of halal and haram is also to be applied in muamalat or commercial matters. In short, all affairs of human must be based on doing what is halal or permissible and abstaining from what is haram or forbidden. According to Thomson Reuters' State of the Global Islamic Economy 2018/19 report, there are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world whose spending was estimated to be $2 trillion in 2017. In addition to Muslims, who made up a quarter of the world population, there are people of other faiths and backgrounds who has also subscribed to the principles upheld by Shari'ah such as human treatment of fellow mankind, animals and the environment. Therefore, there is a big market for halal goods and services.

Historically speaking the institution of waqf, which is a non-governmental organization (NGOs), has played a significant role throughout Islamic history, from the time of the Prophet (pbuh) to the beginning of the 19th century. Although this institution existed before the coming of Islam, yet, Islam was the first religion to develop its legal framework and regulate it. Thus, it became one of the devices created by Muslims to fulfill many services that are financed by the state or the government today, such as education, healthcare, national security, transportation facilities, basic infrastructure, food, shelter, and jobs for many. It acted like a network, penetrating many service sectors whenever it found a need to promote a particular sector. We cannot deny the role of this institution in the development of Islamic civilization before its destruction towards the end of the 19th century. With the recent revival of some of the Islamic institutions in the 21st century, the waqf found its way back with a new dimension focusing mainly on the creation of movable waqf in different countries. Waqf-share is one of the movable waqf which has been practiced in many Muslim and Muslim minority countries today. With the current financial crisis and the urgent need for capital to continue providing services needed by the different societies, the introduction of waqf-shares as a fundraising effort was totally accepted. The main objective for introducing waqf-shares is not only for capital accumulation but also to facilitate the process of creating waqf by the different sects of people in any society, regardless of whether they are rich or not, with the minimum amount of money they can afford in order to participate in developing their societies. This paper will address the current practice of waqf-shares in four different countries.

The Strategic Plan 2018-22 (the Strategic Plan) of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the central bank of the Maldives, was launched on the 23rd July 2018. In his inauguration speech, the MMA's governor, Ahmed Naseer, stated that the new strategic action plan for the next four years aims to revolutionize the payment system in the Maldives. The MMA's vision is to become a credible, independent and contemporary central bank committed to maintaining price stability and promoting inclusive, sustainable economic growth. The MMA's mission is to promote the international value and stability of the Maldivian rufiyaa, develop a secure and efficient payment system in the Maldives and foster a sound financial sector conducive to the orderly and balanced economic development of the Maldives. The Strategic Plan was launched by Minister of Finance and Treasury Ahmed Munawar and Minister of Tourism Moosa Zameer and comprises six major objectives.