Omani firms plan sukuk issue

Several companies in Oman, including a real estate developer, are planning to issue sukuk or Islamic debt instrument. A real estate company has already approached the market regulator Capital Market Authority for floating a sukuk issue for its second phase development, said Abdullah Salim Al Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority (CMA). However, he declined to name the real estate company that is trying to raise funds by way of a sukuk issue. Al Salmi said that the banks may face liquidity problem and the financial institutions have to issue either sukuk or bond for raising funds to avoid an asset-liability mismatch.