Sukuks reach $61bn globally

Sukuks (Islamic bonds) on the international market reached USD 61.2 billion in first half of the current year, with Malaysia having the lion's share, Kuwait Finance house (KFH) said. Baitek said in a report on Sunday sukuk subscriptions reached USD 26.6 billion in the second quarter of the year, adding to the overall subscriptions of the first quarter that amounted to USD 34.5 billion. International markets showed flexibility this year due to fluctuations in bond markets, along with positive economic forecast, in addition to jitters regarding the US monetary policies. Malaysia had the largest market share in the first half of the year, due to the central bank's issuance that reached USD 28.2 billion. Moreover, the Malaysian market witnessed sukuk issuance of USD 18.4 billion in the second quarter of the year. Saudi market witnessed issuance USD 4.5 billion worth of sukuks, followed by the UAE, USD 1.4 billion.