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Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) closed a $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) 5-year sukuk with a profit rate of 2.95%. The sukuk attracted more than 170 investors with the order book rising to over $4.5bn. The sukuk was issued as a drawdown under DIB’s $7.5bn Trust Certificate Issuance Programme, which is listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. It is the first public benchmark sukuk issuance from a regional financial institution after the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners on this transaction.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) gave initial price guidance of around 280 basis points over midswaps for a planned issuance of long five-year dollar sukuk. On Monday, DIB hired a group of 10 banks to arrange a global investor call for the deal, which is expected to close on Tuesday.

Sharjah has hired banks to arrange the issuance of seven-year U.S. dollar denominated sukuk. HSBC was hired as global coordinator for the planned transaction and is joined by Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Gulf International Bank, Mashreqbank and Sharjah Islamic Bank as joint lead managers and bookrunners. The emirate will hold a call with investors on Monday and a benchmark sukuk issuance may follow, subject to market conditions. Benchmark bonds are generally meant to be over $500 million, but a source close to the deal said the transaction could range between $750 million and $1 billion.

The Nigerian Debt Management Office has reminded the general public that the offer for subscription to the N150 billion FGN Ijara Sukuk Bond will close on Tuesday June 2nd, 2020. Proceeds from the Ijara Sukuk Bond auction will be used solely for the construction and rehabilitation of key roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The Sharjah government has raised Dh2 billion through sukuk to support its economy, corporates, SMEs, individuals and banking sector during the coronavirus crisis. Bank of Sharjah was appointed as sole lead manager and arranger for the issuance. The certificates will pay a profit rate of 1.5 per cent and mature in May 2021. Sharjah also listed $200 million sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai in March 2020. S&P Global Ratings lowered Sharjah's outlook to negative last month and affirmed its long-term rating at BBB, the second-lowest investment grade.

Sharjah began marketing a seven-year dollar denominated sukuk. It comes as several governments in the Gulf seek to bolster their finances to face the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a slide in oil prices. Sharjah gave an initial price guidance of around 275 basis points over midswaps for the sukuk. Sources said the issuance would likely be between $750 million and $1 billion.

Nigerian TAJBank has announced a N150 billion Sukuk Bond of the Federal Government. The FGN Sukuk 2020 is open to investors, which include retail investors, high networth individuals, institutional investors such as commercial banks, insurance/takaful companies, pension fund administrators, asset managers, ethically inclined investors, cooperative societies, religious bodies as well as state investment firms. Considering the state of the economy and as several countries grapple with the economic impact of COVID-19, Sukuk is a tool to help countries and businesses develop sources of long-term, stable financing. Book building commenced on May 21 while funding would be on June 2.

Saudi Arabia has raised 5.755 billion riyals ($1.53 billion) in sukuk. The first tranche of the sukuk issue is 3.8 billion riyals, and the total tranche size is 6.549 billion, maturing in 2025. The second tranche has a size of 1.95 billion riyals, and a total tranche size of 10.296 billion, maturing in 2030.

Pakistan's Power Division has amended the Energy Sukuk Rules aimed at facilitating issuance of Rs 200 Sukuk-II through Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE). On May 6, 2020, the government approved a new mechanism/criterion for disbursement of payments to the power generators. The Power Division has to disburse Rs 300 billion (Rs 200 billion + Rs 100 billion) through CPPA-G to Power sector entities including the power generators in private and public sector for system operation during the summer season.

COVID-19 continues to have profound implications for the global economy. All around the world, the lockdown has contributed to rising unemployment, reduced incomes, and increased food insecurity. Private sector workers and the self-employed are disproportionately affected by the downturn. Many experts warn that this could be severe and long-lasting. The pandemic has highlighted the need to rethink the provision of healthcare services. New conversations on supply chains and critical infrastructure are also required. To this end, sukuk could provide innovative and sustainable sources of finance for recovery. Pandemic sukuk can leverage Islamic practices, such as zakat and waqf, to develop financial mechanisms that target both recovery and sustainability. Potential target investors could include companies and diaspora communities.

The Republic of South Africa is working on a rand-denominated sukuk for the financial year 2020/2021. Details regarding the size, tenor and structure of the Shariah-compliant notes will be made in due course. The government may also consider issuing a second sovereign U.S. dollar sukuk in the long term. South Africa issued its first-ever international sovereign sukuk in 2014. The deal consisted of a $500 million 5.75-year note, offering a profit rate of 3.90%.

The Pakistan Energy Sukuk-II (PES-II) has been delayed by 7-10 days. The Power Holding Limited (PHL) is issuing the second issue of the Energy Sukuk to address the liquidity constraints being faced by the country’s power sector. Sources said the delay occurred as the government had to notify certain rules and regulations which could be completed in a couple of days.

Saudi Arabia has raised 5.55 billion riyals in sukuk. The first tranche of the sukuk issue has a size of 1.3 billion riyals, and a total tranche size of 2.523 billion riyals, maturing in 2027. The second tranche has a size of 4.25 billion riyals, and a total tranche size of 8.238 billion riyals, maturing in 2035.

Pakistan's state-owned Power Holding announced the 10-year Sharia-compliant sukuk up to Rs200 billion through the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The amount generated from the Pakistan Energy Sukuk-II will also be used for the settlement of partial circular debt related to the power sector. For the first time, ordinary investors have been allowed to participate in buying a government security. The value of each sukuk unit is placed at Rs5,000. The minimum bid size would be 20 units or Rs100,000. In another development, the SECP has relaxed the time for maturity requirement of government Ijara Sukuk for Sharia-complaint money market sub funds of Pension Fund. The SECP has allowed the Sharia-compliant pension funds to invest in government sukuk from three to five years.

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) plans for five new sukuk offerings worth EGP 5 billion this year. In early April, FRA approved issuing the first-of-kind sukuk in favor of the Arab Company for Projects and Urban Development, a subsidiary of TMG Holding (TMGH). The total value of this Islamic financing facility is estimated at EGP 2 billion. Additionally, Sarwa Capital has been granted in July 2019 the country’s first sukuk issuer license by FRA. This gives Sarwa the green light to issue Islamic bonds through its sukuk arm, Sarwa Sukuk Company.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the auction calendar for issuance of Rs225 billion sovereign Sukuk based on Ijarah. Pre-auction target is set at Rs75 billion for April, while similar amounts are set for May and June 2020. The latest issuance is the part of Rs700 billion worth Ijara Sukuk. The federal cabinet approved the launching of this bond early this month. The bond would help mobilise excessive funds available with Islamic banks and help the government to diversify its debt. Last week, the World Bank said the economic output was expected to contract sharply in Q4FY20, bringing overall FY20 growth to negative 1.3%.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced the auction for three-year Ijara Sukuk to raise some Rs 225 billion for the federal government. Recently, the federal cabinet approved the issuance of a five-year Ijara Sukuk to generate some Rs700 billion to meet the rising financial requirements for combating COVID-19. Three tenders will be conducted for the sale of the Rs 225 billion sukuk. The first auction will be held on April 16, 2020 for Rs 75 billion, the second on May 16 for Rs 75 billion and the third is scheduled for June 18, 2020 for Rs 75 billion. Pakistan has been issuing Sukuk since 2008 to provide liquidity to the domestic Islamic industry; however, demand for such instruments far surpasses their supply.

The volumes of the global issuance of sukuk have dropped 32% in the first quarter of this year against Q1 2019, and a further decline is expected in Q2 2020, as several countries implement measures to control the spread of COVID19. Most government issuers of sukuk are likely to turn to conventional bond markets as they grapple with the impact of weaker economic environments and tight budgets. S&P Global Ratings identified two major trends for sukuk in 2020 - defaults and slowdown of the innovative sukuk issuance. Given the shocks to the economic environment and rapid change in market conditions, the advisory firm expects credit risk to increase sharply.

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority approved the first issuance of sukuk worth 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($127 million) by a subsidiary of Talaat Mostafa Group. The sukuk, issued by the subsidiary Arab Company for Projects and Urban Development, will be available for trading and for expedited payment but will not be transferable for shares. The new sukuk period is for 57 months, up to the end of 2024. Talaat Mostafa Group is Egypt's largest listed real estate developer.

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has issued three short-term A-1 rated sukuk for a total amount of USD1.06 billion. The auction drew more than USD1.85 billion in demand. With over 60 orders from diversified investors, the Islamic Primary Dealers got allocations across all tenors of up to 90% of the total issuances. The USD300 million 1-month sukuk were offered at 1.15%, while the USD460 million 3-month and USD300 million 6-month series were offered at 1.55% and 1.73%, respectively. With today’s auction, the IILM successfully crossed the 100th mark in sukuk issued since 2013, which amounts to a cumulative issuances of over USD53 billion.