IslamicFinance.de

Gulf emirate Sharjah launched its first sovereign sukuk on Wednesday, a 10-year, 750-million-US-dollar Islamic bond with a 3.764 percent yield. Following a press conference in Sharjah on Wednesday to announce the issue, the government said the bond had been more than 10 times oversubscribed, drawing in 7.85 billion dollars in orders from 250 investors. Regional investors accounted for 50 percent of these, with British investors accounting for 20 percent, other European investors 11 percent, and those from Asia 14 percent. The bond was originally priced at 100 basis points over midswaps, but this was later tightened to 120 points in response to the high demand, before the government finally decided on 110 points. The bond will now be traded on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange and the Irish Stock Exchange.