Purpose This study aims to identify the determinants of Malaysian corporate Sukuk rating and attempts to find out which determinant has the most significant impact. Design/methodology/approach The framework tries to establish a relationship between firm’s size, profitability, Sukuk guarantee status and types of Sukuk with Sukuk rating from the perspective of Agency Theory and Information Asymmetry Theory. The data consist of 43 Sukuk issuances from 2006 to 2015. Multinomial Logistic Regression Model is then used to find out the significant determinants of Sukuk rating. Findings The study found that only three variables significantly impact Sukuk rating. The results show that a guaranteed Sukuk Ijarah or a guaranteed Sukuk Musyarakah that is issued by a highly profitable firm has a higher likelihood of getting rating AAA or rating AA as compared to getting rating A. A type of Sukuk, particularly Sukuk Murabahah, is the most significant variable influencing Sukuk rating. However, firm size is not a significant determinant of Sukuk rating in the context of this study. Research limitations implications The first limitation of the study is the relatively small sample size. Second, the study only tested four independent variables. Practical implications Several implications are derived from the results of the study. First, new firms that are planning to issue Sukuk should consistently maintain a high level of profit and consider issuing debt-based Sukuk to ensure that the issued Sukuk have higher rating. To increase the likelihood of getting higher rating, they should also consider providing a third-party guarantor. As for existing Sukuk issuers that are in lower rating category, they should increase their profitability to be upgraded to higher rating category. Second, risk-adverse investors should invest in highly profitable, guaranteed and debt-based Sukuk, as these Sukuk are likely to be in higher rating category and provide guarantee in terms of capital payments during liquidation or bankruptcy. Third, to reduce information asymmetry, policymakers should make it compulsory for all Sukuk issuers to have their Sukuk rated annually and make it mandatory for all rating agencies in Malaysia to publish their Sukuk rating methodologies. Originality/value This paper helps to expand the limited existing literature about the determinants of Sukuk rating, particularly for the Malaysian corporate Sukuk.

Financial inclusion is a major policy concern especially in developing economies. However, an established measure of financial inclusion is still absent. This paper aims to fill this gap by measuring and examining the level of financial inclusion in 66 developing economies. A Financial Inclusion Index (FII) was constructed, incorporating five indicators (ATM, Bank, Other Financial Institutions, Deposits and Loans) for 2013 until 2019. Two-staged Factor Analysis was employed for weights assignment. The results showed that the average level of financial inclusion in developing economies was low but with significant variation among group of countries. A lower level of financial inclusion was observed among the African countries as well as the low-income and lower-middle income countries. The paper also analysed the relationship between financial inclusion and economic development. The findings showed that more developed economies had higher income and thus, higher financial inclusion. While the index is valid and reliable to be used for comparison among developing economies, the study was unable to include indicators of mobile and internet banking due to data constraints. Despite this caveat, the findings of this study will be useful for policymakers in shaping financial inclusion policies. Keywords: financial inclusion, financial inclusion index, economic development, factor analysis

To be true to the spirit of Islamic finance, embodied in the principles of maqasid al-shariah, developments in Islamic finance should contribute towards promoting social inclusion and reducing poverty. However, Islamic finance is criticised for the minimal social impact that it has created and its contribution towards promoting social sustainability. Thus, this paper aims to develop a comparative analysis of literature on the meaning, conceptualization and measurement models of social impact. Then, the paper uses maqasid al-shariah as a theoretical framework to conceptualise social impact and to propose a set of parameters that can be used to measure the social impact of IFIs.

Generally, the global community has made significant progress in recent years to enhance the level of financial inclusion. The 2017 Global Findex Database reported that 69% of adults now own an account at formal financial institutions, an increase from 51% in 2011. In addition, the share of adults reported as having formally saved rose from 23% in 2011 to 27% in 2014. Furthermore, 54% of the adults globally are now able to come up with emergency funds. These statistics shows that improving access and use of financial services shall empower the people to improve their lives (Demirguc-Kunt et al., 2018).While remarkable progress has been made, financial inclusion remains a major challenge in many countries, particularly among developing economies (MIFC, 2014). Worldwide 1.7 billion adults are still without a formal bank account Abstract: An established measure of financial inclusion has still not been found and the link between Islamic finance and financial inclusion has yet to be established. This paper aims to fill the gap in the discourse on Islamic finance by examining the level of financial inclusion in 44 countries in which Islamic finance has an established presence. A multidimensional Financial Inclusion Index (FII) is constructed, which incorporates four indicators (ATMs, branches, deposits and loans) covering the period from 2013 to 2019. The results show that the average level of financial inclusion in these countries is low but with significant variation between countries. Muslim countries in general have lower levels of financial inclusion than the non-Muslim countries. However, some Muslim countries have managed to achieve medium level of financial inclusion by leveraging on Islamic finance, particularly Islamic financial technology (fintech). While the index is easy to compute, the sample is relatively small and the study is unable to include indicators of new fintech channels due to data constraints. Despite this caveat, the findings of this study provide a bigger case for policymakers to further develop and promote Islamic finance as a means to improve financial inclusion, especially in Muslim countries. Further research in this area is recommended.