More than half a year into this pandemic, we hope that you are continuing to stay safe. Whenever we see signs of improvements where we live, we also notice setbacks in other parts of the world. It appears this health crisis is not going away anytime soon.

This is why this month’s issue is particularly notable with our focus on Islamic finance. During the early days of the pandemic, there seems to be a disconnect between sovereign issuers especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which came to the market in conventional format. As the height of the pandemic passed starting in May, however, we saw a rebound in the sukuk market. Nevertheless, the past 12 months have been an important period for Islamic finance as we recognize the best of Islamic finance in The Asset Triple A Best Islamic Finance Awards. This year’s awards ceremony will be held virtually on the 23rd of September 2020. Please join us at TheAsset.com.

What is racing ahead without signs of turning back is digitalization, which has become an important part of our lives. In our cover feature, we discuss the rise and rise of digital assets. Not too long ago, we think of them as part of the cryptocurrency conversation. Yes, Bitcoin has doubled in value from its low in middle of March 2020, which is generating a lot of interest. But digital assets beyond cryptocurrencies are also attracting interest from mainstream investors.

While this may be in part due to recent actions by regulators, the growing understanding of the technology of distributed ledgers that underpin digital assets is moving them into the mainstream of investing. In turn, this has given rise to the custody of digital assets and why in the coming years, they are the new streams of revenue for financial institutions.

In this issue also, Asset Benchmark Research’s Asian Currency Bond survey reveals how the pandemic is leading to the increasing importance of ethics in ESG investing. We also reveal ABR’s Most Astute Investors in Asian Local Currency Bonds for 2020.