GLOBAL: Continuing the
momentum from the previous week, sovereigns are once again making headlines
in the Islamic capital market space. Following the introduction of Sukuk
regulation last year, Jordan is progressing steadily towards its goal of
joining the league of sovereign Sukuk players this year; just yesterday the
Hashemite Kingdom mandated the Islamic Corporation for the Development of
the Private Sector (ICD) as transaction technical support for the proposed
debut Sukuk expected to absorb some JOD1.4 billion (US$1.97 billion) in
excess liquidity.
Malaysia on the 15th April priced its fourth US
dollar-denominated sovereign Sukuk – a dual-tranche US$1.5 billion program
– to phenomenal demand, receiving over US$9 billion in orders from over 450
investor accounts from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US. This past
week we also learned that Kenya is seeking the expertise of Qatar to assist
in its maiden sovereign Sukuk offering, one it hopes to bring to market
this financial year.
On the non-sovereign side, it has been revealed that Dubai’s Noor Bank is
planning a Sukuk program of up to US$3 billion; while Malaysia’s
public-listed Axis REIT boosted its existing RM300 million (US$82.08
million) Sukuk program by a whopping 10 times to RM3 billion (US$820.84
million) in nominal value and also converted the previously 15-year paper
into a perpetual facility. Malaysia’s largest healthcare provider KPJ
yesterday announced that it has concluded the first issuance of RM800
million (US$218.89 million) Islamic medium-term notes under its Sukuk
program; while Malaysia Building Society, one-third of the parties involved
in the unsuccessful merger proposal to form the world’s first Islamic
megabank, has proposed a third issuance under its RM3 billion structured
covered Sukuk commodity Murabahah program to the tune of RM900 million (US$246.25
million). The exempt finance company also confirmed with IFN its plan to
transform itself into a fully -fledged Islamic bank within the next five
years.
Islamic financial institutions are also pushing the internationalization of
Islamic finance agenda, expanding into new markets. This week Qatar
International Islamic Bank signed an MoU with Chinese brokerage Southwest
Securities through which the bank will mobilize efforts to develop the
Shariah financial industry in China including developing an Islamic finance
framework for the country, while Dubai’s Emirates Islamic revealed that it
is keen to set foot in Morocco in the next two years through a policy of
acquisitions and securing operating licenses, according to Al Ittihad.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Securities Commission Malaysia this past
week extended an invitation to operators interested in establishing Shariah
compliant (or conventional) equity crowdfunding platforms to submit their
application – a significant demonstration of support from the regulator in
bolstering the crowdfunding segment.
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