Islamic finance body IILM to issue $490 mln sukuk next week

The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) will issue a $490 million three-month Islamic bond next week, after expanding its issuance programme to $1.35 billion in January. The auction of the three-month sukuk, rated A-1 by Standard and Poor's, will be conducted on Feb. 25. Last month, the IILM sold $860 million worth of three-month paper, designed to meet a shortage of highly liquid, investment-grade financial instruments for the short-term funding needs of Islamic banks. Since the programme's launch, primary dealers have held on to the IILM instruments after auction and there has been little if any secondary market trade in them.