Bond, sukuk issuances to rise in Gulf

DUBAI -The issuance of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, is expected to rise in the Gulf region next year as confidence returns to capital markets, a senior executive at Japanese investment bank Nomura told Al Arabiya TV Saturday.

"We believe that we will see many issuances of either sukuk or bonds in the next 18 months, especially in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi," Mohamed Idriss, Nomura's head of global markets for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al Arabiya television. "Particularly in the energy and transportation sectors."

Corporate and sovereign bond issuers in the energy-exporting Gulf region have raised over $14 billion in bonds this year amid rising interest from investors for high-rated bonds and banks reluctance to lend.

Total global sukuk issuance stood at $13.5 billion at the end of September, more than $1.8 billion of which were sold by power and utilities companies worldwide followed by $1.5 billion from oil and gas, data from Zawya's Sukuk Monitor shows.

Primary sukuk issued out of the Middle East and North Africa region accounted for 59% of total volume of global sukuk this quarter.

Link: http://business.maktoob.com/20090000384586/Bond_sukuk_issuances_to_rise_in_Gulf/Article.htm

Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries of origin, enjoying 44% of the total volume, according to Zawya data.