Global sukuk issuance reaches US$61.2 billion in first half 2013, says KFH-Research

A report issued by KFH-Research states that the global sukuk market has shown resilience this year given the volatility in global bond markets as market players react to positive economic growth prospects as well as concerns over monetary policy in the US. The report mentions that sukuk issuances have kept up momentum with over US$26.6 billion placed during the second quarter, which adds to the US$34.5 billion placed during the 1Q13 to bring the first half total to US$61.2 billion. On a monthly basis, the primary sukuk market in 2013 has outpaced the previous year every month since January 2013 except June 2013. Furthermore, the report adds that the HSBC/Nasdaq SKBI Yield Index shows that overall sukuk yields have risen sharply in 2Q13, with an increase of 43.0% to the highest level in over 25 months.