Bahrain Has ‘Positive’ Feedback for $1 Billion Sukuk, Maraj Says - Bloomberg

Bahrain has so far received “positive” feedback from investors for its plan to sell $1 billion in Islamic bonds next month, Central Bank Governor Rasheed al-Maraj said.

The maturity of the sukuk may be between seven to 10 years, Maraj said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. The Persian Gulf island-kingdom plans to use the money to help finance a budget deficit of about 5 percent of gross domestic product, Maraj in a separate Sept. 25 interview at the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

“The sukuk market has been in general more stable than the conventional market,” he said yesterday. “That’s why we’ve opted for sukuk. Our feedback so far has been positive.”

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