Singapore, 5th April 2016 – In a special session held today at the Islamic Banking & Investment Asia/Middle East Congress in Singapore, the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) announced the official launch of its latest Sukuk Report (5th Edition) which analysis the growth and development of international and domestic Sukuk issuances in recent years and highlights the different Sukuk structures widely used in various jurisdictions.
The findings show that the global Sukuk issuance of USD 61 billion in 2015 reflects a decline in issuance volume from 2014 due to the strategic move by Bank Negara Malaysia to halt issuing short-term investment Sukuk.
The report found that currently 84% of the USD 321 billion outstanding Sukuk belong to just three key markets – Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The IIFM research analysts note that this is likely to change gradually as markets such as Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and others become more active.
A positive trend which has emerged from the research is the steady growth in sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate Sukuk issuances and given the continued interest in Islamic finance from new jurisdictions; the outlook for Sukuk in the medium to long term is positive.
The report also covers case studies on landmark Sukuk issuances, Sukuk market in IIFM member countries and article contributions from key stakeholders on topics ranging from Sukuk rating, listing, primary market and secondary market as well as potentials in new jurisdictions.
“Despite the increasing interest in Sukuk issuances globally there is a lack of authentic data availability for various markets. Not only does this report provide useful data, it also presents insightful analysis on key trends in the Sukuk market”, said Mr. Khalid Hamad, Chairman of IIFM. He noted also, “The commercial success of Sukuk should not lead us to ignore the underlying principles which are the differentiating factor with respect to conventional bonds. Sukuk are an innovative way to raise financing in a Shari’ah compliant manner with strong link to the real economy”.
“This is an important and balanced Sukuk report which fully reflects the state of global Sukuk market. The report has become an established reference point for the industry decision makers in their assessment of trends and prospects in the issuance of Sukuk across the globe. The publication of this report has been made possible with the cooperative endeavor from a number of institutions and individuals from different jurisdictions. The varied information of the collaborating institutions which have been brought into this report, the issuance specific data and the detailed analysis make the report immensely valuable and unique”, said Mr. Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive of IIFM
Mr. Alvi thanked the IIFM Board of Directors and IIFM member institutions for their unrelenting support and expressed his gratitude to the contributors of the report as well as Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, CIMB Islamic Bank, Bank ABC Islamic, Nasdaq Dubai, Noor Bank and Labuan FSA for sponsoring the 5th edition of the IIFM Sukuk Report.