Perpetuals in Vogue as Malaysia Airports Sells: Islamic Finance

Malaysia Airports Holdings’ plan to sell perpetual sukuk highlights rising interest in the debt from companies looking to shore up their balance sheets. The manager of all of Malaysia’s 39 airports will hold an investor presentation for the offer on Aug. 25. It will be the nation’s first sale of rated ringgit Islamic bonds with no set maturity following unrated issues by Malaysian Airline System in 2012 and Boustead Holdings in June. Perpetual bonds, which rating companies treat as equity, have been becoming more popular as they allow issuers to raise money without damaging their creditworthiness and offer higher yields to investors. Moreover, it’s more cost efficient because the transaction is tax deductible.