Dubai’s Noor Bank to help arrange Indonesian sukuk

Noor Bank is looking to Indonesia, Turkey and other international markets to escape tougher competition at home and take advantage of a booming global Sharia-compliant finance industry. Thus, Noor Bank plans to help arrange a sukuk or Islamic private placement on behalf of the Indonesian government, with the Dubai-based Islamic finance institution also underwriting part of the deal. Officials declined to specify the amount of the new sukuk but said it would be dollar based and would include other underwriters. The issue will help strengthen Indonesia's forex reserves and help Bank Indonesia maintain the stability of its exchange rate, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said.