Islamic financial institutions (FIs) drove the Malaysian bond and sukuk markets in 1H 2014. With AmIslamic Bank paving the way with the issuance of the world's first Basel III-compliant Tier-2 Sukuk Murabahah in February, a host of RAM-rated Malaysian Islamic FIs - such as Maybank Islamic, Public Islamic Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank - have been tapping the domestic sukuk market for very competitively priced funding. Driven by this, the Malaysian bond market remained focused on Islamic finance in 1H 2014, with a strong showing in sukuk issuance- representing 73% of the overall corporate bond market in the same period - grossing RM42.2 billion of new issues.