IslamicFinance.de

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced three-year Fixed Rental Rate Government of Pakistan (GOP) Ijara Sukuk (FRR-GIS). Presently, Variable Rental Rate GOP Ijara Sukuk (VRR-GIS) is being auctioned and its rental rate is being fixed every three months on the basis of Market Treasury Bills' cut-off yield. However, on the request of Islamic Banking Industry, SBP has decided to launch Fixed Rental Rate GOP Ijara Sukuk for market development. The rental rate decided in the auction will be applicable to the entire tenor of FRR-GIS and will be paid to FRR-GIS holders on semi-annual basis. Minimum bid size will be Rs 100,000 and in multiples thereof. Rental rate (% p.a.) has to be specified up to a maximum of two decimals points.

The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) will launch on Monday an Islamic equity index aiming to attract business from Middle East firms, a move it hopes will also prompt the government to issue Islamic bonds. The launch of an Islamic index, developed alongside Dubai-based sharia advisory firm Dar al Sharia, and a debut sovereign sukuk would mirror steps taken by Britain and Luxembourg to develop their own credentials in the sector. In 2011, Malta's financial regulator issued a guidance note on Islamic investment funds, the first EU member country to do so, although no such funds have been listed yet. The exchange is also launching this month a new capital market for small and medium-sized firms.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index was last at 116.20589 points, down from 116.97354 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 114.17065 points against 115.21206 at end-2015. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Kuwait Finance House is studying the issuance of sukuk to boost its capital reserves, its chief executive said. Indonesia's government has appointed CIMB , Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered for an offer of U.S. dollar sukuk. The chief executive of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp said in late January that the company was studying means of finance including sukuk.The government of Qatar is in talks with banks about a sovereign sukuk issue as soon as March or April.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has chosen eight banks to arrange a potential dollar-denominated sukuk for the Jeddah-based supranational institution, sources familiar with the matter said. The AAA-rated IDB has picked Boubyan Bank, CIMB, Commerzbank, Emirates NBD, Gulf International Bank, JP Morgan, Natixis and Standard Chartered to arrange the transaction, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The bank is planning the benchmark-sized sukuk offering in the first quarter, they added. IDB, which last issued a $1 billion five-year Islamic bond in March 2015, is looking to increase its issuance of sukuk, partly to raise its profile among international investors and to secure similar pricing levels to other development banks.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is studying the issuance of Islamic bonds that would boost its capital reserves. The offering still requires necessary approvals, its chief executive Mazen al-Nahedh said. The firm could issue capital bonds that either enhance its core Tier 1 capital or its supplementary Tier 2 capital. Besides sukuk plans for the parent company, KFH is also planning to issue Tier 2-enhancing sukuk this year for its Turkish subsidiary. The firm expects the issue will happen this year to support its capital situation so it can grow, he added.

Sukuk issuance for the near term will remain stable despite current global economic uncertainties, as it is seen as a resilient financing instrument to weather through difficult times, according to Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) secretary-general Jaseem Ahmed. This is because the issuance of the Islamic finance instrument is very much dependent on preconditions of a particular country, and not solely or directly correlated to current economic and market volatility, he said. However, he added that while current concerns regarding global headwinds are not to be underestimated, many governments are recognising that it does help to have a diverse source of income.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached an agreement with the Debt Management Office (DMO) to issue Nigeria’s maiden sovereign Sukuk. The decision by the two government agencies to collaborate to issue the Sukuk was a major outcome of the visit of the Director General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo to the DMO on Wednesday. The visit was a return gesture to a similar exercise by the Director General of DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, in November last year. Mr. Nwankwo revealed that issuing a sovereign Sukuk has been part of the institution’s strategic plan drawn three years ago, urging Nigerians to support SEC to building capacity in order to realize the goal of issuing Nigeria’s first sovereign Sukuk in 2016.

The government of Qatar is in talks with banks about a sovereign sukuk issue, sources aware of the matter said on Monday, as the Gulf nation returns to international debt markets to shore up state finances pressured by low energy prices. Bond sales, both in international and loan markets, were identified as the way Qatar would cover its 46.5 billion riyal ($12.8 billion) 2016 deficit, and talks are underway with a small group of banks to select arrangers for the first of these deals, according to three sources with knowledge of the talks. The government may issue the dollar-denominated sukuk as soon as March or April, two of the sources added.

Indonesia's Finance Ministry sold rupiah-denominated Islamic bonds on Tuesday, 26/01. The ministry set an indicative target of IDR 4 trillion (approx. USD $288 million). Proceeds from the bond sale will be used to finance the government's budget deficit. This deficit is estimated to reach 2.15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 2016 State Budget. Despite having the world’s largest Muslim population and forming a dynamic emerging economy, Indonesia plays a minor role in the global Islamic banking industry. Not only does Indonesia's Islamic finance industry lag far behind Islamic finance industries in other countries that contain a big Islamic community, but it also lags far behind the country's domestic conventional banking industry.

Kuwait's Boubyan Bank has received regulatory approval to issue a capital-boosting sukuk worth $250 million, the bank said in a bourse filing on Wednesday. The lender received approval from the Kuwaiti central bank to issue Basel III compliant Islamic bond that will enhance its Tier 1, or core, capital, it said. The bank will take a final decision on the sukuk and its timing after receiving all other approvals, the bank added.

Book-building process for the Omantel sukuk via private placement is currently being done. The proposed OMR50 million issuance is the country’s first multi-denominated sukuk, offered in both Omani rials and US dollars. The bankers have been holding one-on-one meetings with key investors, and said that the issuance is gathering pace amongst both Omani and international investors. The sukuk will have a tenor of 5 years and mature in 2021. The minimum subscription amount for the sukuk is OMR100,000 or $260,000. The profit rate on the sukuk will be set through a uniform price auction and will be finalised upon closing of the subscription period. Interested investors can get further information on the sukuk from the Investment Banking Division of National Bank of Oman who are acting as the issue manager and collecting bank. Subscription closes on January 26.

The emirate of Sharjah priced a $500 million five-year Islamic bond issue on Wednesday. The deal will help Sharjah narrow its budget deficit and also pave the way for other regional borrowers to complete deals after a lull of nearly three months as Gulf financial markets wobbled under pressure from increased geopolitical risk and oil prices slumping to a 12-year low. The deal was priced at a spread of 250 basis points over midswaps, the document showed, at around the same level as the initial price thoughts set on Tuesday. Adjusting for the tenor extension, the current transaction paid a new issue premium of between 35 and 40 bps, several investors and bankers said. The bond performed well in the secondary market with bid/offer quotes of 100.15-100.35.

The Emirate of Sharjah priced a $500 million five-year Islamic bond issue on Wednesday. The deal will help Sharjah narrow its budget deficit and also pave the way for other regional borrowers. In the uncertain atmosphere, the five-year sukuk drew orders north of $950 million, a comfortable amount but much smaller than the $7.85 billion the emirate attracted for a $750 million, 10-year sukuk in September 2014. The shrinking orderbook reflects foreign investors' increasing nervousness about the impact of lower crude prices on the economy and local market appetite. The deal was priced at a spread of 250 basis points over midswaps, the document showed, at around the same level as the initial price thoughts set on Tuesday.

As the pressure on federal revenue mounts following steady decline in oil revenue, the Federal Government would be resorting to a Sukuk Bond for funding the widening budget deficit. The Debt Management Office, DMO, and Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, are collaborating in an effort to issue the Nigerian sovereign Islamic bonds this year.Details of the expected revenue from the bond is not yet disclosed but officials said they expect significant bridging of the 2016 budget deficit which has exceeded the initial N2.2 trillion estimate. According to DMO issuing a sovereign Sukuk will attract significant amounts of affordable capital from the Gulf countries and other established Islamic markets around the world into Nigeria.

Nigeria's debt management office (DMO) and capital market regulator have agreed to collaborate on a debut issuance of sovereign Islamic bonds (sukuk) before the end of the year, the two bodies said. The move could spur wider issuance of sukuk in one of Africa's most liquid debt markets, following similar sovereign deals from Senegal and Ivory Coast. Issuing a sovereign sukuk will attract significant amounts of affordable capital from the Gulf countries and other established Islamic markets around the world into Nigeria, the DMO said in its statement on Wednesday. The statement did not give a potential size for a maiden sukuk deal, although the DMO is a regular issuer of five- and ten-year local-currency bonds.

Governments in the wealthy Gulf Arab oil exporting countries look set to borrow from the international bond market at a record pace this year, putting fresh pressure on bond prices, as they cover budget deficits created by low oil prices. For the first 18 months after oil began tumbling in mid-2014, governments largely held off from borrowing abroad, preferring to draw down their fiscal reserves and in some cases borrow domestically. That strategy is reaching its limits as the drawdown begins to alarm financial markets and push up local market interest rates. So governments in the six-nation GCC will turn to the foreign debt market to help cover deficits which are expected this year to near $140 billion, or 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The emirate of Sharjah is targeting a five-year sukuk offering and could launch a transaction as early as this week, a document from lead arrangers showed on Tuesday. The sovereign finished roadshows on Monday in London, following investor meetings in the Middle East and Asia last week, and was now in the process of receiving feedback from the market, the document added. The emirate mandated Bank Of Sharjah, Barclays, Commerzbank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC and Sharjah Islamic Bank to arrange the meetings and the possible transaction. Sharjah was reported to be planning to raise funds through a dollar-denominated sukuk of benchmark size, in what could be the first sovereign Islamic bond issuance from the region this year.

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has invited banks to pitch for roles in arranging a potential dollar-denominated sukuk, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The AAA-rated IDB is planning a benchmark-sized sukuk offering in the first quarter. IDB was not immediately available for comment. IDB, which last issued a $1 billion five-year Islamic bond in March, is looking to increase its issuance of sukuk, partly to raise its profile among international investors and to secure similar pricing levels to other development banks.

Plus de 67 milliards de Fcfa mobilisés hors Uemoa (45%), 55 milliards F cfa mobilisés en Côte d’Ivoire (37%) et 26 milliards de Fcfa dans l’espace Uemoa (17%). C’est le résultat de la première tranche de la levée de fonds sur la finance islamique, dénommée « Sukuk Etat de Côte d’Ivoire 5,75% 2015-2020 ». Lancée en novembre 2015, sous la présidence du Premier ministre Daniel Kablan Duncan, le Sukuk qui s’inscrit dans un programme quinquennal pour un montant de 300 milliards Fcfa, est repartie en deux phases de 150 milliards chacune. Arrangée par la Société islamique de développement (Sid), cette levée de fonds, qui affiche un titre minimum de 10.000 Fcfa pour un taux d’intérêt de 5,75% l’an, a permis à la Côte d’Ivoire d’être primée « Sukuk deal of the year » et « Africa deal of the year » par le journal Islamic Finance News.

1MDB's recent sale of its 60 percent stake in the Bandar Malaysia development project is in violation of the terms for the sukuk Islamic bonds it issued to finance the relocation of several air force bases, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli claims. This, he said in a statement today, is based on pages 30 and 32 of the agreement. Rafizi pointed out that under Item 2(w)(i)(12) of the RM2.4 billion sukuk issuance agreement, Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (BMSB) – "the issuer" – must remain as the wholly-owned subsidiary of 1MDB. The sale, Rafizi argued, is now a major snag to one of the main pillars of the 1MDB debt rationalisation initiative. He vowed to continue with his crusade, for as long as there is no clear answer or remedy from 1MDB.