Islamic Finance
Majid Al Futtaim’s Treasury Head on Why Going Green is About More than Just Marketing
UAE-based lifestyle conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim broke new ground earlier this year when the company placed the world’s first benchmark-sized corporate green sukuk. Bonds & Loans spoke with John Arentz, Head of Treasury at Majid Al Futtaim, about the company’s green capital markets debut, the strategy underpinning the transaction, and why – green bond or not – treasurers need to bolster their…
26 Jul 2019
Securities Commission Malaysia: SRI Sukuk Broadens Investor Base that Participate in SDGs
Malaysia has been pioneering the sustainable Islamic finance market well before the country’s 2014 launch of the Sustainable and Responsible investment (SRI) Sukuk framework. Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, Deputy Chief Executive of Malaysia’s Securities Commission, says the country needs to build on the seven SRI sukuk issued to date and pull more borrowers from the private sector into the…
23 May 2019
CASE STUDY: FAB Issues World’s First Intraday Sukuk
First Abu Dhabi Bank marked MENA’s debut public sukuk issuance in 2019 with its USD1bn senior sukuk. Riding on a wave of investor demand, the bank tapped the market twice, securing the largest single public issuance from a conventional bank sukuk in the region.
25 Apr 2019
CASE STUDY: Indonesia Dominates ESG and Islamic Finance Nexus with Dual-Tranche USD2bn Issue
The South East Asian sovereign returned to market with its second green sukuk issuance in 12 months. The dual tranche conventional/green sukuk issue saw USD7bn worth of orders from high quality accounts and tightened 30bp and 45bp inside the initial guidance.
10 Apr 2019
GCC Issuance Set to Dominate Sukuk Market for Coming Years
Since Saudi Arabia’s debut sovereign sukuk issuance in 2017, the size of global sukuk markets has exploded. But primary market activity has been dominated by sovereign issuance, with corporates continuing to make up only a small share of the pipeline. Whether this trend will continue remains unclear, and raises serious questions about the long-term potential of the asset class.
1 Apr 2019
The Growth of Sustainable Finance in MENA
The global green bond market has over the past five years grown from virtually nothing into a broad sustainability-linked fixed income asset class, paying financial dividends while tackling some of the world’s most pressing climate and sustainability-related challenges. As Middle Eastern governments redouble their efforts to diversify their energy sectors and wider economies, will 2019 be the…
14 Mar 2019
Malaysia Sukuk Pipeline to Remain Strong as Corporates Seek to Secure Longer Tenors
Dato' Lee Kok Kwan, Chairman of BIX Malaysia, the Bond and Sukuk Information Exchange Malaysia, spoke with Bonds & Loans about the sukuk pipeline for the coming year, growing demand for Sharia-compliant instruments, and Malaysia’s innovative approach to Islamic finance.
22 Feb 2019
Uncertain Global Outlook Highlights GCC Debt Opportunity
As investors around the world brace for continued uncertainty in 2019 that will test the steeliest of nerves, the outlook for debt markets in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region is a much brighter one, with the potential for strong risk adjusted returns.
7 Feb 2019
Strong Tabreed Sukuk Debut Highlights Importance of Visibility Among EM Investors
Leading UAE-based regional district cooling firm National Central Cooling Company PJSC – better known as Tabreed – launched its debut benchmark 7-year sukuk against the backdrop of an active deal pipeline and adverse market conditions, securing competitive pricing and an oversubscription rate of 1.5X. The funding team’s decision to prioritise speed-to-market, flexibility, and investor visibility…
17 Jan 2019
Green Sukuk: The Nexus of Islamic Finance and ESG
Despite its reputation as a heavy emitter of greenhouse gasses, Indonesia’s green sukuk was hailed as a game changer for both Islamic and ESG investing. Luky Alfirman, Director General of Budget Financing and Risk Management, Ministry of Finance in Indonesia believes its inaugural transaction in February is the first of many to come as the government looks to double down on its commitment to…
29 Nov 2018