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The United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Luxembourg issued sukuk for the first time in 2014. They gave a huge boost to a market which was once just seen as a funding tool for borrowers from the Gulf and Muslim countries in southeast Asia. Senegal and South Africa also debuted on sukuk markets, lifting the total number of sovereign issuers to 19 so far. But top-notch entities such as Luxembourg and Britain are unlikely to be sukuk regulars. Momentum next year could instead come from emerging economies. Debut issuer South Africa raised $500 million in September. Oman, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Jordan, the Philippines and Kenya are also mulling sukuk.

The Thomson Reuters Sukuk Perceptions and Forecast 2015 survey of 44 lead arrangers and 106 investors reveals most expect a boost in Sukuk issuance in 2015 of between $150 billion and $174.9 billion. Total global outstanding Sukuk issuance stands at $241 billion, with around $110 billion Sukuk issued in 2014. Global outstanding Sukuk issuance is expected to grow to $907 billion by 2020. The recovery from last year’s low has been driven by more jurisdictions issuing Sukuk. Financial institutions continue to dominate all corporate issuances. Supply growth into 2015 will be driven by financing needs for infrastructure projects especially in the GCC and the wider Middle East region.

Kenya will issue its debut sukuk in the next financial year, not this one as some had expected, after it opted to borrow an additional $750 million from its maiden $2 billion Eurobond issued in June. Parliament is set to consider a recommendation by its finance committee to double the government’s external debt ceiling to $28 billion to fund the construction of a newrailway, port, roads and power plants. Henry Rotich, the cabinet secretary for the Treasury, said the re-opening of the Eurobond, which is expected to be completed on Wednesday, had given the government time to prepare the documentation for the sukuk issue. He said it would be issued in the finiancial year in the financial year ending June 2016.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) released its IIFM Sukuk Report (4th Edition) at the IIFM Seminar held on the pre-conference day of the 21st World Islamic Banking Conference. The research report consists of a comprehensive study of the global Sukuk market and sheds light on the growth, trends and development of international and domestic Sukuk issuances for the period January 2001 - July 2014. The report contains selected Sukuk case studies in the international Sukuk market providing deeper understanding of the mechanism and uniqueness of some of the structures. It is freely downloadable from www.iifm.net

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, plans to sell a dollar-denominated Islamic bond on November 27. IFFI will look to sell a three-year sukuk of benchmark size and pay an interest rate between 15 basis points and 17 basis points over Libor. Qatar's Barwa Bank, Malaysia's CIMB , National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank and Standard Chartered are arranging the transaction. IFFI is rated AA by Standard and Poor's and AA+ by Fitch.

FlyDubai's debut Islamic bonds are signalling growing appetite for sukuk from aviation companies in the Gulf as they spend on airports and fleet expansion. The budget carrier raised $500 million this month in the first sale of the debt by a regional airline after Emirates. The issue received bids for more than six times the amount offered. Boeing forecasts Middle East airlines will need more than 2,600 new aircraft over the next 20 years, worth $550 billion. Sukuk is exptected to be part of the financing mix. FlyDubai's five-year sukuk pays a profit rate of 3.776 per cent, or 200 basis points above the five-year mid swap rate.

Pakistan raised $1 billion from the international Islamic bond market on Wednesday by selling its Sukuk papers at 6.75 per cent profit rate. The government received a subscription of $2.3bn, which was nearly five times the targeted amount. With the proceeds, the country’s foreign exchange reserves are estimated to touch $14.1bn on Dec 1. And after the disbursement of $1.1bn by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected in the second week next month, the country is set to cross the $15bn reserves barrier and will be eligible to benefit from the concessionary development lending window of the World Bank — International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 115.78256 points, up from 115.41158 at the end of last month and 109.78969 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 113.90126 points, against 113.67021 at end-October and 107.28036 at the end of 2013. Several sukuk issues are in the pipeline, including: The Tunisian government picked banks for a debut U.S. dollar sukuk issue, expected to be completed this year. The Islamic unit of Oman's Bank Muscat plans to tap the sukuk market in the first quarter of next year. Turkish Islamic bank Kuveyt Turk mandated CIMB Investment Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Maybank Investment Bank to issue up to 2 billion ringgit of sukuk in Malaysia.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) has given initial price thoughts of mid-to-high teens of basis points over three month Libor as it looks to price a debut dollar sukuk. The Reg S deal will be a three year benchmark-sized floating rate note. Standard Chartered is acting as global co-ordinator, with Barwa Bank CIMB, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and NCB Capital the other joint bookrunners. Books are open.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a provisional (P) Caa1 senior unsecured rating to the proposed US dollar Trust Certificates to be issued by The Second Pakistan International Sukuk Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle established in Pakistan, by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Moody's Caa1 government bond rating and stable outlook on Pakistan reflects the country's large but moderating fiscal deficits as well as its stabilizing external liquidity position. It also factors in high susceptibility to event risk, both on the political front and in terms of economic vulnerabilities that could arise. The (P)Caa1 rating assigned to the trust certificates is at the same level as Pakistan's Caa1 issuer ratings.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has been appointed by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) as Joint Lead Manager (JLM) and bookrunner for a benchmark medium term sukuk issue. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's, Aa1 by Moody's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFIm, for which the World Bank acts as Treasury Manager, has mandated Barwa Bank , amongst four other banks, to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, with a sukuk expected to follow the roadshow. The proceeds of the sukuk will be used to provide free vaccines and related health system strengthening support to many of the world's poorest nations.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans has received regulatory approval to raise 71 million lira ($31.5 million) via sukuk. The Islamic bonds will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans, which last year set up a 100 million lira sukuk issuance programme. No time frame was given for the deal. The bank also plans to issue by year end $50 million worth of ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia, a market which it first tapped in July. Separately, three Turkish state-run banks plan to launch their own Islamic units, moves which are expected to increase competition in the sector and raise operating costs for incumbents.

After sales of Islamic bonds began the fourth quarter at the slowest pace in six years, sukuk from companies including FlyDubai and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co are among deals announced or sold this week. They will increase the amount raised this quarter to at least $5bn. These deals have been in the pipeline and the market volatility in September and October delayed them, said Abdul Kadir Hussain, the chief executive officer of Mashreq Capital DIFC. However, the latest transactions won’t be enough to make for a record sukuk issuance year, he added. Global sukuk yields have retreated 17 basis points since reaching a five-month high in October to 2.8% on November 18.

A bond with an Issue Amount of $500 million priced on Wednesday. Borrower is Al Shindagha Sukuk Limited, Obligor Dubai Aviation Corporation. Its Maturity Date is 11/26/2019. Following are terms and conditions of the bond: Coupon 3.776 pct; Reoffer price Par; Spread 200 basis points; Underlying govt bond Over the midswaps, equivalent to 212.7 basis points over the 1.5 pct October 2019 UST; Payment Date November 26, 2014; Lead Manager(s) ENBD Capital , Credit Agricole & HSBC; Listing Nasdaq Dubai & Irish Stock Exchange.

Malaysia Building Society Berhad (MBSB) is planning a second issuance of its structured covered sukuk commodity murabaha programme. The proposed deal will come nearly a year after the government-owned company sold a debut RM495 million multi-tranche transaction via sole lead manager RHB Investment Bank. The second issue is targeted to raise up to RM700 million. MBSB is hoping to extend the tenors to 10 years in the new issue. The bonds are rated AA1, higher than the A2 corporate rating for MBSB. RHB will be leading the deal again, and may be joined by one or two other banks. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will revise four of its standards in the first half of next year while expanding its guidance for Islamic bonds. AAOIFI's new secretary general, Hamed Hassan Merah, said the standard setting body is looking at the possiblity of developing clearer guidance on sukuk that will incorporate accounting, legal, technical and tax-related aspects. Besides, a revised investment accounts standard is to be released by the end of 2014. Consultations on takaful, ijara and murabaha will be conducted in the first half of 2015, AAOIFI said. On takaful, AAOIFI is considering how to extend its guidance to retakaful, and clarifying the definition of benevolent loans (qard hassan).

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 115.64836 points, up from 115.41158 at the end of last month and 109.78969 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 113.89345 points, against 113.67021 at end-October and 107.28036 at the end of 2013. The Indonesian government plans to issue global sukuk in the first quarter of next year, but no details have been provided on the deal. Besides, Pakistan plans to issue a U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bond worth at least $500 million in November. Oman's government will make its first issue of rial-denominated sukuk for the domestic market as soon as in the first quarter of 2015; the issue may be worth the equivalent of around $300 million or $400 million, with maturities of five or seven years.

Turkish participation bank Kuveyt Turk has mandated banks to issue sukuk in Malaysia, aiming to raise as much as 2 billion ringgit ($596.7 million), which will be its first foray into the southeast Asian Islamic debt capital market. Kuveyt Turk, 62 percent owned by Kuwait Finance House , said in a statement it has mandated CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, Kuwait Finance House Berhad and Maybank Investment Bank Berhad. The last time Kuveyt Turk was in the market was in June, when it issued a $500 million five-year sukuk that attracted over $3.25 billion in orders. In July, Turkiye Finans became the first Turkish lender to issue ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia raising 800 million ringgit.

The global primary sukuk market issuances have cumulatively surpassed the milestone of USD100bln in the first ten months of 2014, said a monthly KFH report on Friday. The pipeline in the last two remaining months of 2014 is robust as the likes of the Government of Pakistan, Government of Tunisia, Dubai and corporate institutions in many countries have plans to tap the sukuk sector within the next few weeks. Overall, 2014 has become the third consecutive year when annual primary market issuances have surpassed the monumental USD100bln mark, said the report. The fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14) has begun with a modest performance as October recorded a monthly issuance volume of USD8.27bln.

Drake & Scull International PJSC (“DSI”) announced the issuance of a US$ 120 million unrated senior unsecured 5-year certificates by way of private placement. The Sukuk will be due on the 12th November 2019 and redeemed fully at maturity. DSI mandated Emirates NBD Capital Ltd. and Mashreqbank PJSC as Joint Coordinators on the deal while also acting as Joint Lead Managers with Al Hilal Bank PJSC and Noor Bank PJSC. The 5-year Sukuk structured under the Sharia principle of Murabaha, represents the first Sukuk based on Murabaha trades of Sharia-compliant certificates on the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform. The proceeds of the transaction will be mainly used to capitalize DSI's business.