IslamicFinance.de

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is trying to fill a gap in the absence of third-party guarantees, which has affected liquidity and hindered growth of Sharia-compliant financing. ICIEC head Oussama Kaisi said the group was engaging with central banks of several countries to find ways to increase liquidity for Islamic financing and allow more third-party guarantees. He added that by accessing the sukuk market companies can increase their investor base through stronger ratings, raise loan tenors and decrease borrowing costs. The value of sukuk issuance in 2018 was $115 billion (Dh422.33bn) and the market looks set for a similar amount this year. According to Standard & Poor’s, the UAE may sell $8bn worth of sukuk this year, slightly lower than $9.1bn recorded at the end of 2018, with private-sector corporations dominating the issuances.