DOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the state’s largest Shariah-compliant lender by assets, is not expecting to issue more Islamic bonds before 2014, its chief executive said yesterday.
“I don’t think it will be needed; there seems to be enough liquidity currently,” Bassel Gamal told reporters at a conference here.
QIB last tapped the market with a $750m five-year sukuk in October as part of its $1.5bn sukuk programme. Qatari banks remain very liquid, but much of this cash is held in local riyals with lenders keen for dollar funding to service a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline ahead of the country hosting the 2022 football World Cup.
Corporate issuance of local currency sukuk is expected in coming years as well, added Gamal, who was appointed as QIB chief executive in January.
“In the coming years, we expect some corporations to issue sukuk in local currency, thus creating their own yield curve with the potential of issuing on the global markets in the years to come.”
“Indeed, we have seen many countries encouraging local issuances of sukuk, such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia,” he added.
Reuters
