Sukuk market 'will need three years to turn'

Noor Islamic Bank does not expect the Islamic bond market to turn around for another three years, given the financial and political uncertainty in the region, its chief executive said.

'What you see in the sukuk market right now is not growing but I think it is shrinking a little bit in comparison to years before,' Hussain Al Qemzi told Reuters in an interview. 'I see three years before we see an upward trend in sukuk. We will see a stronger comeback afterwards.'

Issuance of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, all but dried up as the global financial crisis and then regional political upheaval sapped interest in the market.

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