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Islamic finance

Qatar Islamic Bank's five-year unsecured sukuk was priced at 100 bps over US Treasuries at 4.485%, the lowest rate achieved by a GCC lender

Qatar Islamic Bank sukuk three times oversubscribed

Qatar Islamic Bank, the Gulf state’s largest Islamic lender, has raised $750 million through a new sukuk (Islamic bond) issue. The five-year unsecured sukuk was priced at 100 basis points over US Treasuries at 4.485 percent, the lowest rate achieved by a lender in the GCC, the lender said in a statement. The sukuk order […]

A cashier counts Qatari riyal notes at a money changer in Doha. Estithmar's three-year sukuk offers 8.75 percent coupons

Qatari company launches first local currency sukuk

Doha-based Estithmar Holding has issued a QAR500 million ($137 million) sukuk (Islamic bond), the first corporate local currency-denominated sukuk in the country. This issuance is the first tranche of its QAR3.4 billion sukuk programme, listed on the London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. The three-year sukuk offers 8.75 percent coupons, attracting interest from banks, insurance companies and […]

Water, Waterfront, City

Kuwaiti lenders propose merger to create $50bn Islamic bank

Boubyan Bank and Gulf Bank, two of the largest Kuwait-listed shariah-compliant lenders, are set to commence an initial feasibility study for a potential merger. The merged entity will be among the largest Islamic banks with more than $50 billion in assets. In separate statements to Boursa Kuwait, the two lenders said they will conduct due […]

The proposed sharia standard 62, which aims to transition the industry towards asset-backed sukuk, will not affect 2024 issuance, says S&P

Sharia standard 62 may disrupt sukuk market, says S&P

Global sukuk issuances are likely to suffer next year if the proposed standard 62 sukuk changes to sharia guidelines are implemented, according to credit rating agency S&P. “Adopting Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions standard 62 guidelines as they have been presented could disrupt the market,” it said in a new report. The […]

The total debt capital market in the GCC is likely to cross $1 trillion this year

UAE raises $1.5bn from 10-year bonds

The UAE has secured $1.5 billion from the sale of long-term bonds, according to a news report. The government sold 10-year bonds priced at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, Reuters reported, citing bank documents.  The initial price guidance was lowered from 90 bps after demand reached $5.75 billion, the report said. The total debt […]

Egypt's new Shariah Index says it has received strong interest from a large number of local, regional, and international investors

Hopes high for Egypt’s shariah-compliant index

The Egyptian stock exchange has announced the launch of a long-awaited shariah-compliant index, a move observers say is likely to attract new investors and boost the North African country’s latent Islamic banking sector. Gulf investors are said to be particularly interested. The chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Ahmed el Sheikh, announced that the new […]

Government initiatives to raise levels of Saudi home ownership have increased the number of mortgage approvals

Saudi new mortgage approvals rebound

A greater supply of affordable housing and a growing resignation among prospective house buyers that interest rates are unlikely to fall substantially is helping to propel a rebound in new residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia set a target to increase home ownership among the kingdom’s adult citizens to 60 percent […]

Saudi Arbaia's new sukuk initiative aims to bolster the domestic market

Saudi Arabia issues $17bn Islamic bonds after early repayment

Saudi Arabia has issued new sukuk (Islamic bonds) worth SAR64 billion ($17 billion) following the early purchase of over SAR63 billion of outstanding debt.  The initiative aims to bolster the domestic market, the National Debt Management Centre (NMDC), which manages the Saudi government’s debt obligations and future maturities, said in a statement. The new sukuk […]

Saudi Arabia sold three sukuk tranches of $1.25 billion, $1.5 billion and $2.25 billion

Saudi Arabia’s new sukuk order book hits $20bn

Order books for Saudi Arabia’s $5 billion Islamic bond (sukuk) reached $20 billion, according to news report. The kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, sold tranches of $1.25 billion, $1.5 billion and $2.25 billion, reported IFR, a London Stock Exchange Group publication. The bonds have durations of three, six and 10 years, respectively. Spread on […]

The indicative price for EIB's 5-year sustainability sukuk was set at 100 basis points over US Treasuries

Emirates Islamic Bank’s green sukuk orders hit $1.9bn

The Islamic unit of Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, has launched a $750 million green sharia-compliant sukuk. The indicative price for Emirates Islamic Bank’s (EIB) 5-year sustainability sukuk was set at 100 basis points over US Treasuries, Reuters reported, citing a document from an arranging bank.  The issuance, part of EIB’s $2.5 billion certificate issuance […]

Fitch expects Saudi Arabia to be one of the most active sukuk issuers this year

GCC debt market on way to trillion-dollar milestone

The total debt capital market in the GCC is likely to cross $1 trillion this year, after reaching $940 billion in the first quarter of 2024. New research from Fitch Ratings shows that more than a third of GCC debt issued last year was in the form of sukuk, also known as an Islamic bond.  […]

Funds in green sukuk are placed in traceable, environmentally friendly investments such as renewable energy projects

Demand is high for Alrajhi bank’s first green sukuk

Saudi Arabia’s Alrajhi Bank has completed its $1 billion sukuk – having raised $3.5 billion in subscriptions from local and international investors – as the kingdom’s lenders push to raise funds for the government’s expensive giga-projects.  Sukuk are sharia-compliant bonds that were developed as an alternative to conventional bonds, which are not considered permissible by […]

Core countries account for the majority of Islamic finance – the GCC accounted for 86 percent of growth in 2023

Growth doubts over Islamic finance despite trillions in assets

Islamic finance assets grew to about $3.3 trillion worldwide last year, but credit ratings agency S&P has warned that a planned industry standard could drive down sukuk issuance in 2025 and beyond.  S&P is predicting high single-digit growth in total assets in 2024-25 after an increase of 8 percent last year.  The agency expects the […]

Garden, Nature, Outdoors

UAE commits $50m to development fund

The UAE has committed $50 million to the second phase of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund 2.0 (LLF 2.0), a multi-donor initiative targeting sustainable economic development in the Islamic Development Bank’s (ISDB) 57 member countries. The funding will be deployed by LLF 2.0 to support critical projects in health and infectious diseases, agriculture, and social infrastructure in low […]

'ADIB strongly denies being in any negotiations to acquire a stake in Bank Syariah Indonesia,' the bank said

ADIB denies stake purchase talks in Indonesian lender

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has denied holding talks with Indonesia’s largest Islamic lender to acquire a minority stake for just over $1 billion. “ADIB strongly denies being in any negotiations to acquire a stake in Bank Syariah Indonesia,” the emirate’s largest Islamic lender said in a statement published on the Abu Dhabi bourse on […]

Singapore's Olam Group said Islamic financing gave it access to a new investor pool

UAE investors join Olam Agri’s $625m Islamic facility

Investors from the UAE are part of a global consortium providing Singapore’s Olam Group with a $625 million sharia-compliant financing facility. Other investors are from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the company said in a statement. Names of the investors were not disclosed. The facility, initially guaranteed by Olam Group, will transfer to Olam Agri […]

Architecture, Building, Office Building

Al Salam Bank to acquire KFH’s Bahraini unit

Al Salam Bank, a sharia-compliant lender in Bahrain, has signed definitive agreements to acquire the entire stake in Kuwait Finance House’s (KFH) subsidiary in the kingdom. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, the bank said in a statement to the Bahrain Bourse. No details were given on the deal. In November 2023, Al Salam […]

Architecture, Building, Cityscape

Mubadala tightens sukuk spread as orders hit $7bn

A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company is raising $1 billion through a US dollar-denominated 10-year sukuk (sharia-compliant bond), a news report said. The new funds will be raised by Mamoura Diversified Global Holding, Reuters reported, citing a document. The purpose of the fund was not given. Book orders topped $7 billion, which allowed the […]