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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.

For several years, bonds from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council appeared almost immune to global instability, handily outperforming debt from other emerging markets. Unlike most of the world, GCC governments enjoyed big budget surpluses. But as oil hits new six-year lows, most of those surpluses have vanished. Economists expect all GCC states to post fiscal deficits this year, and half of them to post current account deficits. So investors are starting to re-examine their assumptions about the Gulf, and during the last two weeks of global market turmoil, GCC bonds have not escaped a general emerging markets sell-off.

The International Finance Corp (IFC), the World Bank's lender to the private sector, has received a preliminary AAA rating from Standard & Poor's for a proposed $100 million issuance of sukuk. Proceeds of the sukuk would be used to purchase a portfolio of diversified sharia compliant receivables and other assets, the credit rating agency said in a statement. The transaction would match the size of the last sukuk issued by IFC in 2009, a five-year deal which was listed on the Dubai and Bahrain bourses. The latest sukuk from IFC would rank on the same level as other senior unsecured financial obligations from the multilateral lender, S&P said.

International Finance Corp (IFC), a unit of the World Bank, plans to meet fixed income investors starting on Monday ahead of a potential issue of U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk. IFC, rated Aaa/AAA by international rating agencies, has picked Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank to arrange the investor meetings. The meetings will be held in the Middle East, with a possible sukuk issue to follow subject to market conditions. No details about the size of the issue or maturity were given. The sukuk will be listed on Nasdaq Dubai and an application will also be made for a subsequent listing on the London Stock Exchange.

National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia's largest lender, is selling SR2 billion ($533 million) of capital-boosting sukuk, two banking sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday. The offer, which enhances the bank's Tier 1 - or core - capital and is compliant with Basel III banking regulations, is the third such transaction by NCB since June, and is part of a plan to raise as much as 7 billion riyals of capital before the end of 2015, one of the sources said. NCB didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.97246 points, down from 118.20147 at the end of last month but up from 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.67852 against 116.92144 at end-July and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Malaysia's TIME dotCom is proposing a 1 billion ringgit ($240 million) sukuk programme to run until 2035. Sukuk are a funding option for the Philippine government, National Treasurer Roberto Tan said, adding that he hoped Congress would pass legislation to allow such issuance. Saudi Arabian dairy producer Almarai will issue a senior sukuk of up to 2 billion riyals ($533 million).

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB) is selling a 2 billion riyal ($533.3 million) sukuk as part of its plans to raise capital. The offer, which enhances the bank's Tier 1 - or core - capital and is compliant with Basel III banking regulations, is the third such transaction by NCB since June, and is part of a plan to raise as much as 7 billion riyals of capital before the end of 2015. In the same way as the previous two issues, the latest sukuk is structured with a perpetual tenor but with a clause in the documentation which allows the bank to redeem the Islamic bond after a certain date. NCB Capital is acting as sole arranger. The transaction will be privately placed with one or more government-owned investment funds.

Dollar sukuk returns are turning into losses in Asia’s biggest Islamic finance markets as confidence in government leaders sours amid a regional sell off. In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo reshuffled his Cabinet last week as he looks set to miss his 2014 election pledge to boost annual growth to 7% and as infrastructure spending falls short. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is embroiled in controversy after a probe revealed he received RM2.6 billion in donations from the Middle East. He denied taking money for personal gain and has also reshuffled the Cabinet, including removing his deputy.

The sukuk market has slowed – nine syndicated deals had been sold as of August 13, the lowest number of deals for that period since 2010, when three were completed. They raised a total of $5.7 billion, the lowest value since 2011's $4.2 billion. The pipeline is filled with financial institutions. The Islamic Development Bank in June more than doubled the size of its sukuk programme to $25 billion from $10 billion. Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, a multilateral development bank headquartered in Saudi established a $3 billion sukuk programme in July.

Time dotCom Bhd plans to raise RM1bil under its proposed Sukuk programme 2015-2035. RAM Ratings said on Tuesday it had assigned a preliminary rating of AA3/Stable to the Islamic medium-term notes (MTN) programme. The rating reflects Time dotCom’s sound business position in the fixed-line space and the earnings diversity from its international bandwidth business as well as data centre. Nonetheless, the rating is constrained by Time dotCom’s small market share compared to its larger rival’s. RAM Ratings said the proceeds would be used to expand its fibre footprint, further develop its data operations, refinancing of credit facilities and working capital requirements.

Saudi Arabian dairy producer Almarai will issue a senior sukuk of up to 2 billion riyals ($533 million) to help finance investment plans, it said on Tuesday in a statement published on the bourse website. The sukuk will be offered to local investors and is subject to market conditions, it said in its statement, adding it had mandated HSBC Saudi Arabia and Samba Capital and Investment Management Co to act as joint lead managers.

Linklaters is expecting sovereign Sukuks to be issued by the Ivory Coast, Oman, Tunisia, Jordan and UAE and next year they’re expecting a number to be issued across the Middle East and Africa. Different considerations come into play in the Middle East. For example, oil price movements over the past year have inevitably had an impact on countries whose GDP is inextricably linked with the price of oil. Besides, there is an ever-growing demand for Sukuk products in the GCC, and this will continue to drive innovation in the Sukuk market to enable companies, from different sectors and with different assets available to underpin the Sukuk, to issue these products.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 118.39852 points, up from 118.20147 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 117.20366 against 116.92144 at end-July and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co is marketing a five-year debut sukuk issue which could raise up to 1 billion riyals ($267 million) for the company. Tunis-based Best Lease aims to raise up to 30 million dinars ($15.6 million) via sukuk to finance its growth. Kuwait is preparing legislation to facilitate issues of sukuk by the government as it assesses options to finance a big budget deficit.

Fitch Ratings says in a new report that total new bonds and Sukuk (with a maturity of more than 18 months) from the GCC, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan (GCC+7) declined 27 per cent in 1H15 from a year ago. Bonds were down 30 per cent and Sukuk by 16 per cent. In 2Q15 Sukuk accounted for 20 per cent of total new issuance, marginally up from 18 per cent in 2Q14. The decline is driven by falling oil prices, challenging external funding conditions due to the expected Federal Reserve interest rate hike, and uncertainties over Greece during 2H15. These factors have led to increased volatility in global financial markets.

Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co, owner of five shopping malls in the kingdom, is marketing a five-year debut sukuk issue which could raise up to 1 billion riyals ($267 million) for the company. The firm, also known as Othaim Malls, is part of Al Othaim Holding, a family-owned conglomerate which includes listed food retailer Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co. Othaim Malls launched the transaction last week, with pricing earmarked at between 165 basis points and 175 basis points over the six-month Saudi interbank offered rate. Part of the proceeds will be used to fund its expansion plans.

Legislation gaps are really challenging African countries’ intent to effectively issue the sukuk, which could help fund the continent’s huge infrastructure needs, Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency said on Thursday, in a new report. To date, African sovereigns have issued just about $1 billion of sukuk instruments, compared with global sukuk issuance of an average $100 billion per year over the past five years, says S&P. In Nigeria, Osun State has issued a N10 billion ($51m) sukuk yielding 14.75 percent, the first and currently the only Islamic bond from the Africa’s largest economy. S&P believes that regulations and fiscal incentives could speed Islamic Finance Development on the continent.

For debt that’s off limits to many banks in the Gulf region, junk-rated Damac Properties Dubai Co’s securities aren’t doing badly at all. The company’s $650mn of bonds maturing April 2019 were the best-performing sukuk in Dubai during July, returning almost 70% more than their nearest rivals. Even after the gains, the yield at 6.45% remained the highest for any non-perpetual Islamic bonds in the emirate as of July 31. While most regional banks don’t hold junk-rated bonds in their books due to capital adequacy requirements, estimates that sales may quadruple this year are boosting the allure of the Dubai developer’s debt to investors seeking higher yields in anticipation of the first US interest-rate increase since 2006.

The Malaysian unit of Toyota Motor Corp said it plans to set up a 2.5bn-ringgit ($655mn) programme through its local financing arm Toyota Capital Malaysia in order to raise funds via both Islamic and conventional bonds. While Toyota has not revealed how much of the programme will be covered by Islamic bonds, it is expected that this part will be at least 1bn ringgit ($262mn) which is the size of Toyota Malaysia’s previous and first-ever sukuk programme, which was set up in 2008 and matured in June 2015. Proceeds will be used to strengthen the funding structure of Toyota Capital Malaysia to meet its mid-term expansion plans.

The National Commercial Bank ( NCB ) has successfully settled an issuance of subordinated Additional Tier I capital Sukuk, in the amount of SAR 2 Billion, and compliant with Islamic Sharia principles through a private placement offer in Saudi Arabia. Sukuk issuances such as this are intended to strengthen the Bank's capital base in accordance with the Basel III framework and sustain its growth while maintaining healthy capital adequacy levels. Additionally, the Sukuk will continue to extend the maturity profile of NCB 's liabilities while continuing to diversify its sources of funding. NCB Capital Company acted as sole Lead Manager.

Tunisian firms are preparing to issue Islamic bonds as the government finalises rules covering the sector, creating a new funding option for companies in an economy buffeted by labour unrest and militant attacks. Best Lease aims to raise up to 30 million dinars ($15.6 million) to finance its growth, with Banque Zitouna and El Wifack Leasing also considering sukuk issues. State-owned electricity and water utilities may follow suit, while national carrier Tunisair could tap the market later after clearing legislative hurdles. The government is also preparing to issue its first sovereign sukuk this year. Meanwhile, the IDB is helping to establish an Islamic microfinance institution in Tunisia.