MANAMA: Bahrain-based Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Company.
The MoU will form the basis of joint conduct of ratings of Islamic financial institutions, with international and national scale assessments being carried out jointly, and fiduciary assessments including Sharia governance, being conducted by IIRA.
IIRA has entered into an exclusive arrangement with Dagong, whereby both parties also plan to exchange and expand economic research, and jointly enhance rating coverage in Islamic countries.
Moreover, this alliance also targets the diversification of funding access to Islamic countries by encouraging greater Chinese investment into these countries as one of the largest creditor nations in the world presently.
Dagong was founded with the joint approval of The People’s Bank of China and the former State Economic and Trade Commission in 1994.
Dagong has since emerged as the biggest credit rating agency in the Chinese market and is the first non-Western credit rating agency to have researched and released sovereign credit rating reports for more than 90 countries.
Dagong Credit has rated more than $165 billion worth of bonds in China and is recognised by the European Securities and Markets Authority, in addition to regulatory authorities in China.
IIRA is the sole rating agency established to provide rating services to Islamic institutions and for facilitation of Islamic capital market instruments in predominantly Muslim countries.
IIRA’s specialised rating methodologies recognise and incorporate the unique features of Islamic finance in a way that broadens the quality perspective.
It is owned in principal by the Islamic Development Bank Group in addition to 19 prestigious Islamic financial institutions from several countries.
IIRA has received formal recognition from Central Bank of Bahrain as
an External Credit Assessment Institution.
IIRA is also on the list of approved rating agencies of the Islamic Development Bank.