Annual Report 2024

Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust response, the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced interest rates gradually, bringing them down to a range of 4.25%–4.50%, aiming to support investment and consumer spending. A key geopolitical development was the U.S. imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly in the green tech sector. This included a dramatic increase in duties on Chinese electric vehicles—from 25% to 100%—alongside restrictions on solar panels and lithium batteries. China strongly opposed the measures, threatening retaliatory action and reigniting fears of a new trade war. Financial markets responded favourably to easing monetary policy and technological momentum. The Nasdaq gained 29% over the year, while the S&P 500 rose by 23%, driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence companies such as Nvidia and Microsoft. European markets were mixed, with Germany performing strongly, while France saw declines due to domestic political instability. Global trade rebounded, reaching approximately $33 trillion—up 3.3% from 2023—fuelled by expanding digital services and tech exports. As of April 2025, Fitch Ratings’ forecasts for world growth have been sharply lowered in response to the recent severe escalation in the global trade war. This special update cuts world growth in 2025 by 0.4pp and China and US growth by 0.5pp from March 2025. US annual growth is expected to remain positive at 1.2% for 2025 but will slow to a crawl through the year at just 0.4% year-to- year in Q4, 2025. China’s growth is expected to fall below 4% both this year and next, while growth in the eurozone will remain stuck well below 1%. World growth is projected to fall below 2% this year; excluding the pandemic, this would be the weakest global growth rate since 2009. Fitch also has lowered the 2025 Brent oil price assumption by $5 to $65 – this will also facilitate a faster pace of monetary easing outside the US, as growth slows. Prominent economy in the region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”), have been exploring ways to diversify from relying on oil as their main revenue source, with many economists predicting the growth rate in non-oil GDP will be in line with oil GDP growth next year. However, in its World Economic Outlook Report, the IMF cut its projections for Saudi Arabia's GDP growth in 2026 to 3.7%, compared to 4.1% previously. Saudi Arabia’s real GDP is expected to grow by 3% in 2025, with further acceleration to 3.7% in 2026. As of April 2025, the Reuters poll forecast for Egypt’s annual headline inflation was 20.48% in 2024/25 and forecasted to drop to 12.2% in 2025/26. Egypt's GDP growth fell to 2.4% in 2023/24 from 3.8% a year earlier, according to Central Bank of Egypt’s figures, dragged down by a currency crisis and the war in neighbouring Gaza, which cut into Suez Canal revenue and slowed tourism. It regained momentum after Egypt signed an expanded, $8 billion financial reform package with the IMF and secured $24 billion from the UAE's sovereign fund for real estate investment on the Mediterranean coast. According to the median currency forecast from analysts, the Egyptian pound will weaken to L.E. 51.87 per Dollar by end-June 2025, and L.E. 53.10 by end-June 2026. According to data from the IMF, and Trading Economics, during Fiscal Year 2023–24 (July 2023 to June 2024), Pakistan’s economy faced significant challenges, with GDP growth projected at just 2.4%. Inflation remained elevated, averaging around 24.5% over the fiscal year, driven by energy price hikes, currency depreciation, and supply-side