Last Thursday was a good day for the sukuk market and Malaysia government global sovereign papers. The closing of the dual tranche $2 billion Wakala (agency) sukuk issued by the Wakala Global Sukuk Berhad on behalf of the Malaysian government, who is also the obligor, not only set new milestones but also confirmed yields below the guidance price.
Thus augurs well for the Malaysian market where a yield curve for sovereign sukuk is fast emerging given that the $2 billion offering is the third Malaysian sovereign global sukuk offering in the last 11 years.
More importantly, it sends a clear and present message to other member countries of the Islamic Development Bank that sovereign Malaysia is serious about developing critical mass in the Islamic capital market especially the sukuk market, and unlike countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and so on, it is putting its money where its mouth is. All the above countries have yet to issue a sovereign sukuk, and only Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey sort of have the minimum required trust and sukuk laws in place to facilitate such offerings.
No comments:
Post a Comment