IslamicFinance.de

Warning that the global sukuk market is heading toward a correction in 2015, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) has halved its forecast for global sukuk issuance in 2015 as major issuer Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) switches to other instruments to finance the government’s spending. The global ratings agency said it was revising its forecast for total sukuk issuance in 2015 to about $50 billion to $60 billion from $100 billion to $115 billion, assuming there will be no issuance from BNM in 2015. In a statement, S&P said the move by BNM to stop issuance leaves the door open to issuers such as the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to step up their issuance and provide the industry with liquidity, thereby contributing to the development of an Islamic yield curve.