SUKUK PIPELINE - Issue plans around the world

DUBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Following are major Islamic bond issues in the global pipeline.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 115.16353 points, up from 114.41171 at the end of last month and 109.78969 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 113.13021 points, against 111.97123 at end-September and 107.28036 at the end of 2013.

ETISALAT - Abu Dhabi-based telecommunications firm Etisalat is planning its first sukuk issue, bankers told IFR in early October. The company will have the documents ready in coming weeks, but the deal is more likely to be launched in early 2015, they said.

TUNISIA - Tunisia has sent banks a request for proposals for a debut U.S. dollar sukuk transaction, market sources told IFR in early October. The sovereign hopes to complete it by end-2014, one source said.

BANK ISLAM - Malaysia's Bank Islam, wholly owned by BIMB Holdings, has set up a 1 billion ringgit ($307 million) subordinated sukuk programme to boost its regulatory capital, RAM Ratings said in early October.

BINTULU PORT - Malaysia's Bintulu Port Holdings is expected to prepare for its planned Samalaju Port project with a proposed sukuk issue, likely to be 700-800 million ringgit, The Edge daily reported in early October.

TURKEY - Turkey wants to make an international sovereign sukuk issue annually, but has not yet made final plans for a sukuk this year, a Treasury official told IFR in early October.

1MDB - Malaysia sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will raise 8.4 billion ringgit with Islamic bonds to build a power plant, IFR reported in early October.

WCT - Malaysian construction firm WCT Holdings will raise up to 1.5 billion ringgit through sukuk to refinance debt, pay working capital and capital expenses, Malaysian Rating Corp said in late September.

MALAYSIA MARINE - Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering said in late September it had received approval from the Securities Commission to establish a sukuk murabaha programme of up to 1 billion ringgit.

TURKIYE FINANS - Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to issue $50 million worth of ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia by year-end to diversify its funding base, chief executive Derya Gurerk told Reuters in late September.

DIFC INVESTMENTS - DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the company running Dubai's financial free zone, is looking to raise as much as $700 million before the end of October by issuing a sukuk to help repay existing debt and fund real estate development, its top executive said.

MAHCO MALAYSIA - Mahco Malaysia, a vehicle to issue sukuk for Mohammed Othman Al Houkail Trading & Contracting Co, a medium-sized contractor in Saudi Arabia, proposed an Islamic medium-term note programme of up to 300 million ringgit, RAM Ratings said in late September.

CENDANA SEJATI - Malaysia's Cendana Sejati, a unit of local bank Masraf Al Barakah, proposed a 360 million ringgit senior sukuk murabaha medium-term note programme, RAM Ratings said in late September.

INDONESIA - Indonesia's finance ministry will hold an auctions of project-based sukuk as well as six-month sharia T-bills on Oct. 21.

AGAOGLU - Turkish construction-to-energy Agaoglu Group plans to raise around $300 million by issuing sukuk, Niyazi Albay, Agaoglu's chief investment officer, told Reuters in mid-September. No specific time frame was given.

KUVEYT TURK - Lender Kuveyt Turk, 62 percent owned by Kuwait Finance House , plans to issue sukuk in Malaysia, aiming to raise as much as 2 billion ringgit, Turkey's Capital Markets Board said in mid-September. It gave no details.

AKTIF BANK - Aktif Bank, Turkey's largest privately owned investment bank, has received regulatory approval to issue 200 million lira ($91 million) in sukuk, the Capital Markets Board said.

IFFI - The International Finance Facility for Immunisation Co. (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, has picked four banks for a potential U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk, a document from lead managers showed in mid-September.

ADVANCED PETROCHEMICAL - Shareholders of Saudi Arabia's Advanced Petrochemical Co gave approval on Sept. 15 for the company to issue sukuk in a total amount not exceeding its share capital.

OMAN - The government of Oman is expected to issue 200 million rials ($520 million) of sukuk early next year, its first issue of Islamic bonds, Jamil Al Jaroudi, chief executive of Bank Nizwa, told Reuters.

PAKISTAN - Pakistan's Ministry of Finance selected Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered as bookrunners for a U.S. dollar sukuk issue, a ministry official said; the tenor of the bond and the format would be decided as soon as the week of Sept. 8.

DOGUS GROUP - Turkish conglomerate Dogus Group has received regulatory approval to raise $370 million by issuing the country's first U.S. dollar-denominated corporate sukuk, the Capital Markets Board said in late August. No time frame was given.

CIMB Islamic - CIMB Islamic, the sharia-compliant unit of Malaysia's second largest bank, is preparing an Islamic bond programme to raise up to 5 billion ringgit, ratings agency MARC said in late August.

SUNWAY - Malaysian property developer Sunway will raise up to 2 billion ringgit by issuing sukuk mudaraba, it said in August; short-term commercial paper under the programme will have maturities of between a month and a year, while medium-term notes will have maturities of one to seven years. Sunway will make its first issuance within two years.

MALAYSIA AIRPORTS - Malaysia Airports Holdings hired four banks for a subordinated perpetual sukuk musharaka to raise 1 billion ringgit; investor meetings would be held on Aug. 25.

RAS AL-KHAIMAH - The emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, part of the UAE, invited banks to pitch for arranger roles on a potential dollar-denominated sukuk, sources said in early June. However, bankers said in August that Ras al-Khaimah had sent out requests for proposals for a syndicated loan, casting doubt on whether the planned sukuk issue would now go ahead.

GULF FINANCE HOUSE - Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House said in mid-August it planned a $200 million sukuk issue to repay outstanding debt and for acquisitions. The deal would take place in coming months.

ADIRA DINAMIKA - Indonesia's PT Adira Dinamika Multi Finance plans to raise at least 500 billion rupiah ($42 million) with ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia by the end of the year, bankers said.

K-ELECTRIC - Karachi-based utility K-Electric plans to raise as much as 22 billion rupees ($223 million) through sukuk to refinance existing debt, the company said in late June.

LIBYA - Libya's central bank is proposing to issue Islamic bonds to help fund the country's budget and offset a loss of oil revenues that could create a deficit of $25 billion this year, a bank official said in June.

KENYA - Kenya plans to issue another international bond and may consider a debut sukuk issue, the finance minister said in late June, after a successful debut $2 billion eurobond closed.

BANK MUAMALAT - Malaysia's Bank Muamalat, a unit of sovereign fund Khazanah and auto-to-property conglomerate DRB-Hicom Bhd, will raise up to 2 billion ringgit with Islamic bonds, credit agency Malaysian Rating Corp said in late June.

BAHRI - National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) plans to arrange long-term sharia-compliant financing in the next year to replace a bridge loan backing its $1.3 billion acquisition of Saudi Aramco's marine unit, Bahri said in June. Banking sources prebiously told Reuters Bahri was looking at a potential debut sukuk issue to replace the bridge loan.

SOCIETE GENERALE - Societe Generale completed the roadshow for the first issue in its 1 billion ringgit multi-currency sukuk programme in Malaysia, and would decide on the size in days, the bank said on June 18. In early July, banking sources said Societe Generale was still seeking a window to launch.

IFC - The International Finance Corp, the World Bank's lender to the private sector, is considering a return to the Islamic bond market, an IFC official said. A sukuk issue is still in the early stages of discussion but would likely be in the fiscal year starting in July 2014.

JORDAN - Jordan's government is studying a proposal to issue its first Islamic bond as early as next year, possibly raising over $1 billion in multiple currencies, but a preference for concessionary loans from aid donor countries could hinder the plan, government sources said.

MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP - Malaysian Resources Corp, a local construction firm, said on June 12 it would issue Islamic bonds to raise up to 680 million ringgit for land acquisitions and working capital.

BANGLADESH - The central bank is seeking to amend rules on its existing sukuk programme to broaden its use and allow for sovereign issuance by the government, a central bank spokesman said in June.

AL OTHAIM - Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co, owner of five shopping malls in the kingdom, plans to issue its debut local currency sukuk as early as in June, sources aware of the matter said at the start of the month. The transaction is likely to be worth between 500 million and 1 billion riyals ($133-267 million), one of the sources added.

JEDDAH ECONOMIC CO - Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Economic Co said in mid-May it was in talks with local banks to raise funds for the 14 billion riyal first phase of its Kingdom City project. For part of the money, "we are looking at the bonds and sukuk market but this will need a structure in place, which we are working on," chief executive Mounib Hammoud said.

BANK MUSCAT - Bank Muscat plans a dual-currency U.S. dollar and rial sukuk issue worth around $300 million that would be the first sukuk sale by an Omani bank. The issue, which could carry tenors of three to five years, would be part of a 500 million rial ($1.3 billion) sukuk programme which shareholders approved in March, Sulaiman Al Harthy, group general manager of Meethaq, Bank Muscat's Islamic operation, told Reuters in early May.

PELABURAN MARA - Malaysia's Pelaburan MARA, the investment arm of Majlis Amanah Rakyat, plans to issue sukuk worth up to 1 billion ringgit this year or next to finance its investments in the oil and gas and technology sectors, group chief executive Nazim Rahman was quoted as saying in April by The Edge Financial Daily.

HUA YANG - Malaysian property development firm Hua Yang Bhd said on April 29 it had won approval from the securities commission to raise up to 250 million ringgit with an Islamic bond programme.

FIRST GULF BANK - Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank, the third-largest bank by assets in the United Arab Emirates, plans to raise up to 3.5 billion ringgit with Islamic bonds in Malaysia, RAM Ratings said in March.

KILER REIT - Turkish real estate investment trust Kiler GYO plans to issue a five-year sukuk worth at least $100 million in the second half of this year, parent company Kiler Holding's chief financial Officer Kaan Aytogu said in February.

ACWA - Last December, Saudi Arabia-based water and power project developer ACWA Power said it had raised a 1.77 billion riyal Islamic loan from four local banks to help finance investments including acquisitions and act as a bridge to a sukuk issue in 2014.

ADB - The Asian Development Bank said in December that it was considering an Islamic bond issue as early as in 2014.

Source: https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/sukuk-pipeline-issue-plans-around-world-050841558--sector.html

Shariah Gets Hotter as Kazakhs Revive Islamic Bank Plan

Kazakhstan is reviving plans to develop Islamic finance, joining nations from South Africa to the U.K. in targeting an industry that’s forecast to reach $3.4 trillion during the next four years.

The majority Muslim central Asian nation is “fine-tuning” legislation for Shariah-compliant banking, central bank Chairman Kairat Kelimbetov said at an Islamic finance conference in Almaty last week. Some lenders are seeking to convert into Islamic banks, he said.

Borrowing costs for sellers of Islamic securities have tumbled this year as investors snap up debt from first-time issuers including Britain. South Africa, Luxembourg and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are also preparing sales. The drive by Kazakhstan comes two years after its debut sukuk, which was denominated in Malaysian ringgit.

“The sovereign sukuk may not be quite ready, but there are other financial institutions who may be looking at issuing sukuk,” Rizwan Kanji, a Dubai-based partner at King & Spalding LLP law firm, said Sept. 9 in an e-mail following his first visit to Kazakhstan. They may use structures that appeal to Gulf Cooperation Council investors, he said.

Global Capital

The Islamic finance industry is expected to double in the five years through 2018, according to Ernst & Young LLP. The U.K., which is vying to establish itself as a global hub for Shariah-compliant financing along with Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, received orders for more than 10 times the 200 million pounds ($322 million) it raised in its inaugural sale in June.

The debt will contribute to a 30 percent surge in global sovereign Islamic bond issues to $30 billion this year as investors clamor to take advantage of lower yields, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Average sukuk yields worldwide declined 65 basis points in 2014 to 2.77 percent on Sept. 9, Deutsche Bank AG indexes show. That compares with a 30 basis-point drop to 4.77 percent in average yields for the Bloomberg Emerging-Market Sovereign Bond Index.

The U.K. was the first non-Muslim government to sell a sovereign sukuk. The issue’s success has tempted other nations to tap Islamic capital markets, according to Sheikh Bilal Khan, a co-chairman of Dome Advisory Ltd.

Following Suit

“There’s no doubt that the U.K. sovereign sukuk has encouraged many countries to follow suit,” Khan said by e-mail last week. “Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are looking to become Islamic finance hubs of” the region, he said.

Kazakhstan first explored sukuk as early as 2010, when the government said it sought to make Almaty an Islamic finance hub for Central Asia. Abu Dhabi’s Al Hilal Bank opened a branch in Kazakhstan that year, and remains the only Islamic lender in the oil-rich nation.

“We look forward to additional players coming into the market,” Prasad Abraham, chief executive officer of Al Hilal Islamic Bank JSC of Kazakhstan, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Sept. 2. The bank plans to double its assets to $300 million over the next three years, he said.

Legislative Hurdles

Al Hilal Islamic experienced difficulties in generating business after setting up in Central Asia’s biggest energy producer because of a lack of understanding of Shariah-compliant products by customers, Chief Financial Officer Aidyn Tairov said in 2012.

Kazakhstan will face legislative hurdles as it seeks to promote the industry and the nation is experiencing the early stages of development, Central Bank chairman Kelimbetov said last week.

“We have a roadmap for development of Islamic finance until 2020, adopted by the government,” Kelimbetov said. “We have a number of Kazakh banks seeking to convert to Islamic banks.”

The economy of Kazakhstan, which has the third-lowest investment-grade credit rating at Standard & Poor’s, grew 5.95 percent last year from 5 percent in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Gross domestic product will slow to 4.7 percent this year before accelerating to 5.8 percent in 2015, according to a Bloomberg survey of 12 economists conducted in late June.

“There’s a bit more of a systematic approach now, rather than rushing in to issue a sukuk,” Kanji said of the latest drive from senior government officials to develop Islamic finance. “It makes sense for them to look at the Middle East, attract funding and establish a track record.”

Securities Commission Malaysia introduces new Sukuk framework

The launch of the SRI Sukuk framework is in line with the initiative set out under the SC’s Capital Market Masterplan two to promote socially responsible financing and investment. With the shifts in investor demographics, there are growing concerns over environmental and social impact of business and greater demand for stronger governance and ethics from businesses. The Malaysian capital market is well-positioned to capitalise on these changing trends and facilitate sustainable and responsible investing.

“The introduction of the SRI Sukuk framework is part of the SC’s developmental agenda to facilitate the creation of an eco-system conducive for SRI investors and issuers and is also in line with the rising trend of green bonds and social impact bonds that have been introduced globally to facilitate and promote sustainable and responsible investing. Combined with Malaysia’s leading position in the global Sukuk market, this framework will further enhance the country's value proposition as a centre for Islamic finance and sustainable investments”, said Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, Chairman of the SC.

The SRI Sukuk framework is an extension of the existing Sukuk framework and therefore, all the other requirements in the Guidelines on Sukuk continue to apply. The additional areas addressed in the framework for the issuance of SRI Sukuk include utilisation of proceeds, eligible SRI projects, disclosure requirement, appointment of independent party and reporting requirement.