IFN Bangladesh Roadshow discusses potential government Sukuk (By IFN)

IFN Bangladesh Roadshow discusses potential government Sukuk

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BANGLADESH: At the Islamic Finance news Bangladesh Roadshow on the 5th February, panelists comprising of central bank officials, government officers and representatives from multilateral organizations such as the ICD discussed the potential for Sukuk as a source of funding for government-related projects; including the construction of the Padma Bridge. Touhidul Alam Khan, a senior executive and the vice-president and head of corporate assets and client origination at the Green Banking Unit at Bangladesh-based Bank Asia, said: “In Islamic finance, the investors enjoy all rights and obligations that accompany ownership, and for asset-backed structures, Sukukholders have recourse to the underlying assets.” Panelists at the event also suggested the issuance of cross-border Sukuk by the government of Bangladesh via a syndicated financing structure to raise funds for national development projects. It was evident during the one day Roadshow that there is much potential in the Bangladeshi Islamic finance market. With a Muslim population of 130 million, a growing middle class sector and increased foreign participation in the investment arena, the key issues pertinent to the country’s Islamic financial market include recent governmental efforts, tax and regulatory updates, as well as the Islamic micro-financing, SME and agro-financing sectors. International banks such as Standard Chartered Saadiq have also expressed interest in exploring further opportunities within the Bangladeshi Islamic finance sector, especially in the area of project and infrastructure development. The country’s growing economy is expected to attract more Islamic funds from foreign players, while industry players expect more fully-fledged Islamic banks and commercial banks with Islamic windows to crop up in the coming years.