Sukuk - the source of raising capital for the Islamic debt market

Abstract

Sukuk, an Islamic equivalent of bond, has established itself as one profitable product that holds great potential in the Islamic finance market. Its lucrative returns resulted in the robust growth in demand and supply of different varieties in the capital market. Sukuk are securities that comply with the Islamic law and its investment principles, which prohibits the charging, or paying of interest. All Sukuk returns and cash flows are linked to assets purchased or those generated from an asset. Over the years, the sukuk market has grown from 10 to 15% annually to reach approximately USD 140 billion and contributed to approximately 10% of the global Islamic finance assets in 2012. While sukuk are structured in a similar way to conventional asset-backed securities (ABS) or covered bonds, they can have significantly different underlying structures. Especially, when sukuk have the real asset-backed structure (as opposed to the asset-based structure) they can indeed protect investors once a default event is triggered. Governments remain the most active issuers across the history of the global sukuk market, with Malaysia's government leading. Sovereigns have issued a total of USD 280 milion since 2013. In the last three years, 82% of global sukuk issuance came from governments and quasi government bodies while only 18% were issued by corporates.