Islamic Finance
Off the Record: Issuers, Investors Upbeat on Sovereign Sukuk Prospects
Participants at an exclusive Sovereign Sukuk Roundtable hosted by Bonds & Loans and Emirates NBD Capital were upbeat about the benefits sukuk bring for both borrowers and investors, but concerns around thin liquidity, a lack of standards, and regulatory uncertainty have prompted difficult questions about the outlook for the asset class.
11 May 2018
Maybank Islamic Banking Chief: “Projected global sukuk demand outstrips supply”
With demand for sukuk rising steadily in recent years, Bonds & Loans speaks with Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican, Group Head and Islamic Banking CEO at Maybank Islamic Berhad, about the risks and opportunities in the market, green sukuk, and the growing involvement of Asian investors in MENA debt markets.
27 Apr 2018
Case Study: Indonesia Serves Up Benchmark-Setting Green Sukuk
Indonesia navigated a challenging and volatile market to place a USD3bn dual-tranche green sukuk, which will go towards supporting the country’s efforts to combat climate change.
26 Apr 2018
GCC Corporates Adapt to New Normal – but Hopes for Bond Market Revolution Could be Dashed
Gulf sovereigns tapped the debt market on an unprecedented scale over the past couple of years as banking liquidity tightened and the hunt for yield pushed investors into new territory, setting the stage for more non-financial corporate bond issuance and a huge funding culture shift among the region’s enterprises. But there may be reason to believe what began to be seen as a funding revolution in…
13 Apr 2018
CASE STUDY: Albaraka Turk Makes History with Turkey’s First Additional Tier 1 Deal
Albaraka Turk extended its reputation as a pioneer in the sukuk market last month, issuing the country’s first Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 capital notes – in a Sharia-compliant privately placed, publicly listed format, no less.
14 Mar 2018
Interview with TDB Treasurer: First Islamic bond deal as part of diversification strategy
The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, known more commonly as TDB and, formerly, PTA Bank, is a specialized African regional FI - one of the fastest growing investment grade rated multilateral DFIs on the continent. We speak to Abraham Byanyima, Treasury Executive, about the bank’s recent dual-tranche conventional & Islamic bond, East Africa’s private banking industry and…
1 Mar 2018
Bonds & Loans Turkey Awards: Winners in 2018
Despite a conspicuous rise in tensions between Turkey and some of its closest neighbours and allies, the country finished 2017 as one of the fastest growing economies in the world – thanks in part to an unprecedented fiscal stimulus that helped among other things stoke the continued deepening of the capital markets. Against that backdrop, a number of leading issuers and borrowers once again set…
20 Feb 2018
Standardisation and Harmonisation Will Propel the Sukuk Market Forward
Almost 20 years ago, global fixed income investors scarcely heard of the word ‘sukuk’, let alone understood the asset’s unique structural features or benefits. Much has changed since, with the global sukuk issuance topping USD74.8bn at the end of 2016. But with the asset class’ impressive growth being hamstrung by liquidity shortages and a lack of global standards, the development and…
14 Feb 2018
Middle East CFOs Eye New Credit Funding Opportunities
Boosted by a positive global outlook and rising oil prices and despite growing geopolitical risk, top corporate, quasi-sovereign and sovereign CFOs, Group Treasurers and Heads of Debt Management in the Middle East were resolutely optimistic about the financial prospects of their organisations heading into Q4, according to our most recent Middle East CFO Market Sentiment Monitor.
5 Jan 2018
Russia, CIS, Europe & Turkey Credit Markets Brief: 02 November – 16 November
Petropavlovsk sold USD500mn of fresh debt –– PSB gets downgraded – Rosneft’s shares take a hit due to Venezuelan crisis – Venezuela and Russia agree on debt restructuring –ABLV placed USD40mn of unsubordinated notes – Belarus to issue USD600mn next year – The government to support Turkey’s export sector
16 Nov 2017