IslamicFinance.de

Chief Executive of Bank of London and the Middle East, Humphrey Percy expects the sukuk market issuance to grow and that will be underpinned by new sovereigns. He is not only referring to the U.K.’s maiden sukuk but also potential new Islamic bond sales by Luxembourg, South Africa and Hong Kong. Mr. Percy argues that demand for high-quality sukuk is on the rise because under ever more stringent banking regulations those investments can be treated as part of the lenders’ mandatory liquid assets buffers. In addition, as global interest rates could go up, entities would be more compelled to consider selling sukuk, Mr. Percy said. And the more sukuk issuance from relative newcomers outside the traditional markets, the better for the overall development of the industry, Mr. Percy noted.