Government Islamic Sukuk Ijara trading commences in Bahrain

Bahrain Bourse has announced the listing of the Government Islamic Lease Securities (Sukuk) that has been issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of Bahrain through registered brokers at Bahrain Bourse. The Sukuk will be traded under the symbol GILS23.SUK.

The BD200 million securities issued at a par value of BD1 each on 9th July 2015 for a period of 10 years ending on 9th July 2025. The returns (rent) on these securities will be paid every six months on 9th January and 9thJuly every year throughout the period of this issue. The annual rate of return will be 5.00%.

As of Sunday 2nd August 2015, investors will be able to sell and buy Sukuk by placing their orders through the brokers who will feed them into the trading system. The system will automatically match the orders in accordance to the price priority then time priority, with a minimum of BD 400 per transaction in the primary market.

Following the listing of this issue, the number of conventional bonds and sukuk issues listed on BHB reached 10 issues with an approximate total value of US$ 3.993 billion.

It's worth to mention that Bahrain Bourse has issued on 1st February 2015 the Guidelines on Trading Debt Instruments on Bahrain Bourse. The Guidelines organize trading the debt instruments in the secondary market in the Bourse during trading sessions that start daily from 9:30 am until 1:00 pm from Sunday to Thursday.

The guidelines also clarify the types of orders, board lots and the tick size applied in the debt market. The guidelines also present the pricing mechanism in the debt market which shows the seller investor will receive the full amount of the transaction which includes the Sukuk value plus the coupon which will be automatically calculated by the system.

All transactions on Sukuk will be settled within two business days of the completion of the deal (T+2).