IslamicFinance.de

The Islamic bond market has seen some improvement in recent months but its overall performance in 2020 will remain weaker than last year, pulled back by a lack of issuance from corporate borrowers and central banks. According to Mohamed Damak, global head of Islamic Finance at S&P Global Ratings, the sukuk market will be down compared to 2019. Although sovereigns, banks and multilateral lenders may issue more sukuk in foreign currencies, corporate borrowers have remained on the sidelines as they try to hold onto cash and reduce capital expenditure. Sukuk issuance volumes had fallen 27% on an annual basis in the first six months of this year. S&P expects overall issuance of Islamic bonds to reach around $100 billion (Dh367bn) for 2020, which will be about 40% lower than the $162bn recorded in 2019.