Gulf investors poised to snap up Britain's new $687m sovereign sukuk - Arabianbusiness

Gulf investors poised to snap up Britain's new $687m sovereign sukuk - Arabianbusiness

The UK government has issued £500 million ($687 million) of sukuk – seven years since it became the first country in the western world to issue sovereign Islamic bonds.

The treasury on Thursday said the sukuk had been sold to investors based in the UK and in the major hubs for Islamic finance in the Middle East and Asia.

The second UK sukuk offering is more than double the size of the first issuance in 2014, increasing the supply of high-quality Sharia compliant, liquid assets to the market and supporting the development of Islamic finance products in the UK.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “By launching our second sovereign sukuk, we’re cementing the UK’s position as the leading global hub for Islamic finance outside of the Islamic world.”