Gulf sukuk sales slow down - The National

Gulf sukuk sales slow down - The National:

"Arabian Gulf Islamic bond sales fell this year, compared with an increase in Asia, highlighting the reluctance of smaller businesses in the region to issue sukuk.

The number of Shariah-compliant bond offerings in the Gulf Cooperation Council has fallen 29 per cent in 2013 from a year earlier to 17, while Malaysian issuance increased 14 per cent to 230, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The value of sukuk sales in the GCC and Malaysia, home to the world's biggest sukuk market, has slumped as concern the Federal Reserve will scale back its bond-buying program deterred issuers.

Sovereign or quasi-government issuers, which prefer to sell bonds denominated in dollars to target international investors, dominate sales in the six-nation GCC, leaving them "more exposed" to global market fluctuations, said Rizwan Kanji, Dubai-based partner at King & Spalding. The drop in GCC sales mirrors worldwide bond-sale numbers, which are down 12 per cent in 2013."

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