Islamic finance body IILM sells debut USD 490 million sukuk

The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) has issued its USD 490 million debut sukuk. The three-month Islamic bonds, denominated in US dollars, were fully subscribed. The IILM sukuk received a high A-1 credit rating from Standard & Poor’s, and the IILM has said it plans to increase its issuance eventually to as much as USD 3 billion. The sukuk, priced at 30 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate, was auctioned off to seven institutions from around the world. These primary dealers will now be responsible for selling the sukuk on to other Islamic banks and institutions in an effort to create an active market in the instruments.