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Fitch Ratings has assigned Kuwait Finance House’s sukuk programme an expected A+ and F1 rating. KFH Sukuk, the issuer and trustee, is a special purpose vehicle (SPV), incorporated in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), solely to issue certificates (sukuk) under the programme. The trustee has been incorporated solely for the purpose of participating in the transactions contemplated by the transaction documents.

Dana Gas CEO Patrick Allman-Ward discusses the company's Sukuk litigation and performance. Click on th source.

Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) is waiting for the right time to issue its $500m sukuk in the international market. QIIB CEO Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei said that QIIB is currently weighing market conditions before the issuance of the 5-year sukuk. QIIB is not in a hurry to hit the market, as it does not face any kind of liquidity issues. The lead arrangers of the QIIB issuance will be QNB, Standard Chartered and some Malaysian Banks. The tenor would be 5 years. QIIB issued its first sukuk in 2012 for $700 and it matured in October 2017. The bank’s $2bn Trust Certificate Issuance programme has already been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) and is being admitted to the official list of the FCA and the London Stock Exchange. The Programme has been assigned a provisional rating of A2 by Moody’s Investors Service Cyprus.

Damac Properties listed $400 million (Dh1.4 billion) sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. It is the third Sukuk listed by Dubai-based Damac Properties on Nasdaq Dubai, following a $650 million Sukuk listed by the company in April 2014 and a $500 issuance in April 2017. Damac Chairman Hussain Sajwani said Damac continues to expand its development portfolio at home and internationally. Furthermore, the listing on Nasdaq Dubai provides them high visibility around the world and an excellent regulatory framework. Dubai's sukuk listings have now reached a total nominal value of $59.72 billion, the highest amount of any listing venue in the world.

According to Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) deputy CEO Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, the world will need up to US$90 trillion (RM360 trillion) worth of investments for infrastructure by 2030. This presents a significant opportunity for green finance and green sukuk to be part of the mainstream investment for the financing solutions. In July 2017, SC, Bank Negara Malaysia and the World Bank Group established the country’s first green sukuk. Green sukuk has become the trend that has received support from investors and regulators on a global scale. NewParadigm Capital Markets Managing Director Charanjeev Singh says more green sukuk issuances are expected to take up the Islamic finance space as Malaysia continues to be the catalyst for Islamic bonds. So far, the focus has been big government-owned companies. The next level of development would be to facilitate the middle- market or the mid-sized companies, and not necessarily the government- owned or government-linked, but the A or AA ratings.

Dana Gas has reached agreement with creditors on restructuring $700m of sukuk. Under the deal with the sukuk holders’ committee, investors who want to exit the instruments can do so in a tender at 90.5 cents on the dollar. Alternatively, investors can exchange the sukuk for new three-year Islamic instruments with a 4% profit rate, while receiving final profit payments that they were owed before the old sukuk matured last October 31. Holders representing more than 52% of $350m of sukuk convertible into equity, and 30% of $350m of non-convertible sukuk, agreed to take no further action before the tender. The deal would require the support of 75% of sukuk holders and would then become compulsory for the rest. Dana’s shares jumped 3.9% on Sunday after news of the deal.

As opposed to earlier structures, today’s sukuk come with a variety of features. There are two broad thrusts in the innovation that has taken place. First, the use of embedded options for better risk management and second, innovation seeking to overcome limitations like the need for physical underlying asset. For example, a call option which provides the right to purchase an underlying asset at a predetermined price is typically embedded to minimize the risk to the obligor. An embedded put option on the other hand favors the sukuk-holder. The put enables the holder to sell the underlying asset to the obligor at a predetermined price. A number of Islamic banks have issued perpetual sukuk with embedded call options for the purpose of meeting their Basel III capital adequacy requirements. Also, sovereign wealth funds like Malaysia’s Khazanah have issued “Exchangeable Sukuk” which allow the holders to either convert the sukuk to the underlying asset, or redeem the sukuk at face value. While sukuk design has come a long way, they need to move toward an even more enhanced risk-sharing.

Dana Gas has reached an agreement with key holders of $700m of its sukuk to restructure the securities. A committee representing sukukholders agreed to accept an immediate cash payout of 20 cents to the dollar and to roll the rest into a three-year security. According to the agreement, the new security will pay an annual coupon of 4%, bondholders agreed to remove the convertible option in the securities. Dana Gas said it would pay a further 20% of the sukuk after two years and will raise the coupon to 6% if it fails to do so. The majority of sukukholders have agreed to the terms. Investment bank Houlihan Lokey is advising Dana Gas and Moelis & Co is the consultant to the committee of sukukholders.

Bidaya Home Finance has successfully closed its inaugural Sukuk issuance under the recently established SR500 Million Sukuk Issuance Programme. The total amount raised in relation to the Series 1 Sukuk was SR250 Million. Bidaya's CEO Mazin Al Ghunaim said this was a landmark transaction since Bidaya was the first housing finance company in Saudi Arabia to issue a Sukuk. Ashmore Investment Saudi Arabia acted as the Arranger with respect to the Sukuk Programme issuance, while Albilad Capital acted as the Dealer. Bidaya's Sukuk Programme is aimed at maximizing the utilization of capital markets, resulting in the diversification of the company's funding sources.

Malaysia is one of the largest markets for Islamic finance. According to Mohieddine Kronfol, chief investment officer at Franklin Templeton Investments, Malaysia's sukuk market could attract Chinese companies if there were more foreign currency-denominated issues. He said Malaysia has attracted foreign companies to issue sukuk, but they were predominantly in ringgit and largely domestically bought.Mohieddine said there should be more transactions in international currencies like the U.S. dollar, and a currency regime or some central bank support that facilitates that. Franklin Templeton Investments projects global sukuk growth at 15-20% this year on the back of stable oil prices, better growth outlook in markets that issue sukuks and sustained demand for Islamic finance.

Saudi Arabia has completed the issuance of a new sukuk sale to help finance its budget deficit. The Kingdom raised $1.3 billion from the sale of sukuks in three tranches maturing in five, seven and 10 years. This was the second sukuk sale this year following a $4.8-billion issue it completed last month. The government debt level, both domestic and international, rose from 1.6% of gross domestic product in 2014 to 17.3 of GDP last year reaching $118 billion. During the same period, the government has drawn down some $245 billion from its fiscal reserves. Oil income made up more than 90% of public revenues before oil began to slide.

According to Fisch Asset Management CEO Philipp Good, the GCC bond and Sukuk market is generally sound. The GCC debt market has seen considerable development, in terms of issuance volume and spread, for both the conventional and Islamic space. The bond and Sukuk pipeline in the GCC for the last two to three years has been dominated by the senior unsecured USD format. At the same time, some project bond issuance has occurred in the GCC, which has utilised highly innovative structures. Recent hybrid issuances from corporates, and Additional Tier 1 bonds and Sukuk from banks such as First Abu Dhabi Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Bank, all prove that there is plenty of scope for more sophisticated instruments to be offered. The investor base for GCC debt is now more diverse than ever before, and 2018 looks to be another strong year. It will probably be weighted towards corporates, with sovereigns having dominated the market in 2017.

Morocco will finally launch its first sukuk in 2018. According to Hicham Talby, head of the financial sector department at the Ministry of Finance, the new financial instruments that will be operational this year will include four different formulas: Ijara, Wakala, Musharaka, and Murabaha. First, the government must complete the operational, legal, and regulatory aspects of Islamic finance. As Morocco’s first sovereign debt is taking some time to be issued, Talby expects the process to be much faster for the next three planned sukuk issues. The government originally adopted legislation allowing Islamic banking and insurance in January 2014, but there was a delay in authorization.

Morocco will issue its first bonds on Islamic market this year. According to Hicham Talby, head of the finance ministry’s treasury department, the country plans to issue four dirham-denominated sovereign sukuk. While the first issuance would take much time due to the implementation of a legal framework for the operation, authorities expect the process to be faster for the three other issuances. Mali has already launched its first sukuk issuance for 2018. Likewise, South Africa and Sudan have recently announced their intention to follow the move in 2018. The Moroccan government also wants to establish a sovereign sukuk fund, ahead of an increase in dirham-dominated Islamic bonds, over the coming years.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange announced the listing of the N100bn, seven-year, Federal Government Ijarah Sukuk with a rental rate of 16.47%. Director General of the Debt Management Office Ms. Patience Oniha said that the FGN Ijarah Sukuk was designed to finance critical road infrastructure across the country. She added that the proceeds would be used to further support the construction and rehabilitation of 25 roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country. According to Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the listing has strong implications for emerging and frontier markets, which continually seek to unlock dormant pools of capital needed for economic growth and development.

Sharjah Islamic Bank has given initial price guidance in the 160 basis points over mid-swaps range for a planned five-year dollar sukuk issue that has been capped at $500 million. The bank is expected to price the Islamic bonds later on Wednesday. The bank has appointed HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank as global coordinators and Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Noor Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers and bookrunners for the issue.

Albaraka Türk Participation Bank has sent a notice of redemption to its certificate holders on 06 April 2018 for its US$200,000,000 outstanding sukuk. Albaraka General Manager Meliksah Utku said the early redemption of the sukuk before its maturity in 2023 reflects the bank's partnership-centric approach to sukuk investors. The redemption date of the sukuk will be 07 May 2018 and will be redeemed at the aggregate of the outstanding face amount plus accrued but unpaid periodic distribution. Issued in May 2013 as a Tier 2 subordinated and USD-denominated sukuk al murabaha, the certificates were rated CCC+ by S&P and carried a coupon of 7.75% per annum.

The proceeds of N100 billion Sukuk are being applied to infrastructure development across Nigeria. Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO) Ms. Patience Oniha said that the proceeds were designated for the financing of 25 road projects across the six geopolitical zones of the country. An inspector team visited Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja Road, Obajana-Okene Road, Suleja-Minna Road and Kaduna Eastern Bypass Road. During the inspection, the team assessed progress on the work that had been done as well as ongoing rehabilitation and construction works on the roads. Of particular significance is the fact that the funds from the Sukuk had made it possible to construct the Okene Bypass, which reduces congestion on the roads within the town.

Senior scholars in Islamic finance are exploring ways to prevent legal disputes with new rules aiming to clarify responsibilities. The discussions are part of the annual sharia conference of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). AAOIFI has developed a comprehensive sharia standard for sukuk that is being finalised, with work underway on three accounting standards and a governance standard. According to Said Bouheraoua, director of the Malaysia-based International Sharia Research Academy for Islamic finance, Dana Gas and other cases highlight the potential need to legislate work of scholars and penalties for breaches. At present, only the central bank of Malaysia has stipulated such fines, although this requires proving breaches occurred in 'bad faith' making penalties difficult to apply.

The central bank of Bangladesh has suggested encouraging Islamic Shariah compliant investment certificate Sukuk in the capital market. Capital market regulator BSEC pointed out that other Muslim majority countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, KSA, UAE as well as non-Muslim majority countries like the UK and Singapore have Sukuk in their capital market. It also pointed out that Bangladesh needs to undertake measures to expand capital market for financing productive investments and infrastructural projects. Finance Minister Ama Muhith has recently expressed his plan to pave the way for the long-term financing of the capital market.