Jordan chooses Islamic Development Bank arm to support debut dinar sukuk

Jordan chose the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, to support the country's debut sovereign issue of sukuk. The ICD will provide "transaction technical support" for the domestic issue of Jordanian dinar-denominated sukuk, which is expected this year. The sukuk will be used to absorb excess liquidity held by Jordan's Islamic banks, which is estimated to total 1.4 billion dinars ($2 billion). Khaled Al-Aboodi, chief executive of the ICD, said the issue would help to develop Jordan's capital market and provide an alternative to its Treasury bills for investment by Islamic banks.