Corporate #sukuk to grow slow in 2020

According to Malaysian Rating Corp (MARC) chief ratings officer Rajan Paramesran, domestic corporate sukuk are in a better position than during the global financial crisis or the Asian financial crisis. Going into the current crisis, corporate sukuk had relatively stable cashflow metrics. He added that government-supported transport projects, state-backed water infrastructure projects and solar power plant projects have recently been and will be key sources for sukuk issuances. Rajan said the catalyst for the growth in the Islamic debt market continues to be government incentive on susuk issuances such as tax reduction. Based on MARC’s data, corporate sukuk issuance by the end of July 2020 amounted to RM34.3 billion, which is the lowest to date over the last 10 years and dampened by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a separate report, Moody’s said Malaysian Islamic banks are expected to remain resilient amid the Covid-19 outbreak, underpinned by heavy concentration on retail financing.