Bahrain Plans Bourse to Lure Sukuk From London: Islamic Finance - BusinessWeek

Bahrain, the Middle Eastern country with the largest number of Islamic banks, aims to grab a greater share of sukuk trading from the U.K., Dubai and Malaysia with a bourse dedicated to securities that adhere to Shariah law.

The Bahrain Financial Exchange, scheduled to open in October, will start trading in Islamic debt next year, Chief Executive Officer Arshad Khan said. Eight sukuk valued at about $2.9 billion trade on the existing Bahrain Stock Exchange, compared with 20 at a face amount of $16 billion listed on Nasdaq Dubai, data on exchange websites show. The London Stock Exchange has attracted $17.7 billion from 26 securities.

Issuers are favoring the most-active markets to ensure investors can trade their securities, with General Electric Capital Corp., the world’s biggest non-bank finance company, listing $500 million of Shariah-compliant debt sold in November in Malaysia, London and Dubai.