IslamicFinance.de

The credit crunch in the US and Europe, coupled with the ongoing Eurozone crisis, has resulted in more companies turning to the increasingly liquid sukuk market. Besides, countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set to host world events in 2020 which is fuelling investment in infrastructure. Despite the plummeting oil price, GCC countries — such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — enjoyed strong economic growth in 2014, which led to an increase in the liquidity of local and regional banks. This considerable liquidity has enabled regional financial institutions to become important investors in the growing sukuk market. Global sukuk issuances will be driven by relatively limited levels of supply coupled with the continued level of liquidity within the overall Islamic investor base, in particular from Islamic banks.