Foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Qatar have more than doubled in 2024, as the country aims to lure regional and global investors. 

FDI projects rose 110% in 2024, from 115 reported in 2023 to 241 last year. 

Greenfield projects secured the biggest slice of the pie, constituting 95.6% of the total FDI capital expenditure (CAPEX), with $2.62 billion,  

The Gulf state raked in $2.74 billion in FDI capital expenditure in 2024, versus a negative inflow of $474 million the previous year and $76.1 million in 2022, the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar) said in its latest report. 

Qatar has set an ambitious goal to attract $100 billion in net foreign direct investment by 2030, as  part of its national development strategy. 

Electric power generation lead the pack with FDI capital expenditure of $1.1 billion, constituting 40.1%. Retail & wholesale trade sector followed with 13.6% ($374 million), ahead of water, sewage, and systems sector, which garnered 9.6% ($263.9 million).

Japan emerged as the leading investor, contributing $1.38 billion (50.2%), ahead of second-place UAE with $464.6 million (16.9%). 

The US, India, and Lebanon also made significant contributions, with $361.5 million (13.2%), $56.8 million (2.1%), and $50.8 million 
 

We speak with Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf, co-founder & CEO of Canadian Islamic fintech company, Manzil, on its first faith-driven residential project, which aims to offer a modern yet inclusive ethical housing structure. 

What is Manzil’s broader goal with the launch of its faith-driven residential project?
Manzil’s broader vision is to pioneer Canada’s first purpose-built Muslim community that seamlessly integrates modern urban living with Islamic values and lifestyle needs.

This initiative - known as Manzil Communities - aims to create a vibrant, inclusive, and family-oriented environment where faith, financial ethics, and community infrastructure coexist.

It addresses the growing demand among Muslim families for housing that respects their spiritual, cultural, and financial principles, while also fostering civic engagement and intergenerational prosperity.

Ultimately, our goal is to set a replicable blueprint for inclusive urban development rooted in ethical finance and social purpose.

⁠When will the project be launched?
The first Manzil Communities project is expected to break ground in early 2026, with pre-sales and marketing activities beginning in late 2025.

We are currently in advanced discussions with municipal partners and developers to finalize zoning, design, and financing frameworks.

Full public details, including location, masterplan features, and eligibility criteria, will be announced later this year.

⁠How will Manzil facilitate Shariah-compliant financing for purchasers?
Manzil will offer home financing solutions through its established and Shariah-compliant co-ownership model.

This model is structured without interest (riba) and avoids prohibited elements such as gharar and speculation.

Under this arrangement, Manzil and the customer jointly acquire the property, with the customer gradually purchasing Manzil’s share over time while paying a fair market profit on the portion not yet owned.

The structure is certified by our in-house Shariah board, ensuring compliance with Islamic financial principles and full transparency for buyers.

⁠How has the feedback been so far?
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Since our initial announcement, we’ve received expressions of interest from over a thousand families across Canada and beyond.

Community leaders, clerics, urban planners, and Islamic organizations have voiced strong support for a development that prioritizes spiritual well-being, halal financing, and culturally informed design.

Many see this as a landmark opportunity to address the housing needs of Muslim communities in a dignified and faith-conscious manner.

⁠How can other Western societies replicate the model?
The key to replicating this model lies in collaboration, customization, and compliance. Faith-driven housing must be co-developed with local communities, supported by financial institutions that understand Islamic ethics, and integrated with municipal planning frameworks.

Western societies can adopt a similar model by supporting alternative financing structures, accommodating religious amenities in zoning bylaws (e.g., prayer spaces, gender-sensitive facilities), and engaging culturally diverse populations in their housing strategies.

Manzil is open to knowledge-sharing and partnerships with organizations globally that are committed to advancing ethical housing and inclusive community development.
 

Bank Albilad has launched its first US dollar-denominated Additional Tier 1 (AT1) sukuk, raising $650 million through a 5.5-year perpetual non-call mudarabah structure. The sukuk, issued under the bank’s $2 billion AT1 capital sukuk programme, was priced at 6.5%, tightened from initial price thoughts of around 6.75%, following strong investor demand.

According to sources familiar with the transaction, the final order book exceeded $2.5 billion, excluding interest from joint lead managers, signalling robust market appetite for the Saudi lender’s capital instruments.

The net proceeds from the issuance will be used to strengthen Bank Albilad’s Tier 1 capital and support its general banking operations.

Albilad Capital and HSBC Bank plc acted as global coordinators and joint lead managers. Emirates NBD Capital and Goldman Sachs International served as additional joint lead managers.

The sukuk will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.

Bank Albilad holds credit ratings of A2 (Stable) from Moody’s and A- (Stable) from Fitch.
 

Pakistan has launched its first sovereign domestic green sukuk worth 30 billion Pakistani rupees at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to expand sustainable, Shariah-compliant financing.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, addressing the launch event via video link, stated that the issuance increases the share of Sukuk-based debt to approximately 14% of Pakistan’s total domestic debt, which currently stands at 37 trillion rupees.

Structured under Ijarah and issued through the sustainable investment sukuk framework, the three-year green sukuk features a variable rental rate and will be listed and tradable on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Proceeds from the issuance will be allocated to eligible green energy infrastructure projects, including the construction of three dams. The auction is open to local retail, institutional, and corporate investors, as well as to non-resident Pakistanis, Roshan Digital Account holders, and foreign investors.

The issuance is being led by Meezan Bank, with Dubai Islamic Bank, Bank Islami, and Alfalah Islamic acting as joint financial advisors.

The launch coincided with the PSX reaching an all-time high of 119,961.91 points last week. Aurangzeb said the sukuk reflects growing investor confidence in Pakistan’s economy and capital markets.

“God is ever watchful.”

“He knows not only your actions, but your intentions.”

“Nothing is hidden from his sight.”

These were among the first truths many of us absorbed as children, not from textbooks, but from the practiced faith of our elders. Long before formal study, we were reminded of dictums such as no deed is insignificant, no motive escapes notice.

In that remembrance, a moral architecture was built - quiet, steady, enduring: the architecture of accountability.

The modern business crisis: A vacuum of moral weight
In today’s business world, accountability is often reduced to technical compliance or financial oversight. The animating spirit - why we act, to whom we answer, and what our actions mean in a larger moral frame - has been hollowed out.

Many entrepreneurs begin with market logic: What sells? What scales? At best, the intent is to solve a problem. At worst, to only make a profit.

But profit without moral grounding is like motion without direction. A business that forgets its obligations - whether to people, the environment, or a higher purpose - risks devolving into mere manipulation. When this happens, the most vital component of enterprise - trust - begins to corrode. 

A Qur’anic conception of accountability
The Islamic worldview holds that every action, whether visible or concealed, is subject to moral accountability.

The Qur’an reminds us:

“Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned.” (74:38)

This applies no less to commercial activity than to private worship. In Islamic law, the human being is referred to as a mukallaf - a morally responsible agent. It is not a titular position but a state of being. It demands consciousness in every role we serve, as founders, investors, managers, or workers.

Every contract signed, every supply chain chosen, every pitch delivered - these are not neutral acts. They are moral events, echoing in - and recorded beyond - time.

It was said that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (r), the second caliph, once remarked:

“If a lost sheep under my rule were to perish on the banks of the Euphrates, I fear I would be questioned about it by Allah.”

These were the words of a man who knew too well the heft of responsibility that he assumed.

Leadership, he understood, does not end at the edge of visibility. Responsibility includes second-order (i.e. downstream) consequences, even the ones no one sees but God.

So we must ask ourselves: What damage or distress, however remote or unintended, are entailed by our operations? If we outsource harm, does it cease to be ours?

Three dimensions of moral accountability

Islamic tradition speaks of accountability in three intertwined dimensions:

1.    To God (ḥuqūq Allāh) - Are our dealings truthful, fair, and in alignment with divine limits?

2.    To Creation (ḥuqūq al-ʿibād) - Are we honoring the rights of those who trust us - kith and kin, employees, customers, suppliers, neighbors, and the environment?

3.    To the Self (nafs) - Are we preserving our own moral and spiritual integrity in the pursuit of our goals?

Without accountability across these dimensions, the soul of commerce disintegrates. What remains is transaction without meaning. A well-worn marketing pitch sums it most aptly: “Look them in the eye, tell them a lie, and watch them buy.”

Such a mindset reduces business to performance. But Islam calls us to something far greater: to sincerity, to stewardship, to truth.

The Mukallaf entrepreneur: Between power and responsibility
A business leader in Islam is not simply a strategist or an executor. He or she is a shepherd, entrusted with a flock - just as the Prophet ﷺ taught:

“Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is accountable for his flock.” (Bukhārī and Muslim).

This means we must build institutions that remember, not just those that scale:

●    Introduce ethical audits that examine moral impact, not just compliance.
●    Develop decision-making cultures grounded in conscience, not just calculation.
●    Conduct impact assessments that measure spiritual, human, and ecological outcomes - not just profit margins.

Rebuilding the moral infrastructure of enterprise
In earlier Islamic civilizations, business was embedded in a moral ecosystem: families, markets, guilds, and scholars all played a role in maintaining a collective assessment of right and wrong.

Today, these layers have thinned. Many of us operate in ethical solitude, surrounded by noise but starved of guidance.

All the more reason, then, that before we build a product, a brand, or a market, we build a sense of moral orientation. We must ask: “Have we grounded our business in accountability?”

Conclusion: Commerce as a sacred trust
Islam does not oppose commerce. It dignifies it, but when it is tied to truth, trust, and transcendence.

True success is not found in valuations or exits, but in what our work says about who we are and who we serve.

To build with accountability is to build with ihsān - excellence before God and service to creation. Without accountability, rights are vague, duties are heavy, and trust is thin.

With accountability, commerce becomes not just halal, but sacred.

Sajjad Chowdhry is an entrepreneur and C-level executive with over two decades of global experience across venture building, strategy, investment, and strategic finance. A Columbia and Hartford Seminary graduate, he is also a co-founder of DinarStandard

Gulf-based asset manager Amwal Capital Partners has launched a $150 million Shariah-compliant private credit fund focused on asset-backed lending across the Gulf region, Reuters reported.

The fund, which has already exceeded its initial close target, aims to deploy capital across 12 to 15 direct lending transactions over a five-year period. It will primarily target opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with a focus on tech-enabled platforms.

Sharif Eid, partner and co-head of fixed income at Amwal, said the fund has secured commitments from several leading regional institutional investors.

Amwal Capital Partners, established in Dubai in 2016, opened a Riyadh office in 2023 to expand its regional presence. Its investor base includes sovereign wealth funds, international financial institutions, and multi-family offices.

The fund’s strategy reflects growing demand for alternative financing options in the Gulf region, particularly in Shariah-compliant structures.

Penang has become the first Malaysian state to establish a dedicated council to coordinate and drive the growth of its halal industry, according to Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama.

The Penang Halal Industry Development Council was launched on May 12 and aims to enhance the state’s role as a regional hub for halal production, processing, and exports to ASEAN and global markets. The council’s formation was approved by the State Executive Council on January 22, 2025.

Penang currently has 870 active companies certified under the Malaysian Halal Certification Scheme (SPHM), covering sectors such as food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, logistics, slaughterhouses, and medical devices. The state is also the only one in Malaysia conducting medical device audits aligned with all nine national halal certification schemes.

The new council will serve as a platform to coordinate inter-agency efforts, promote SME capacity building, and support international halal trade and investment initiatives. It is chaired by Deputy Chief Minister I, Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between PHI and the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) to explore collaboration on entrepreneur development through halal certification.

Bernama reports that the council is expected to play a central role in strengthening Penang’s competitiveness in the halal sector and supporting Bumiputera entrepreneurs in accessing global halal markets.