IILM REISSUES US$1.1 BLN SUKUK IN THREE SERIES

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 -- The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has successfully completed the auction for the reissuance of an aggregate US$1.1 billion (US$1=RM4.23) short-term A-1 rated sukūk across three different tenors of one, three, and six-month respectively.

It said the three series were priced competitively at 0.17 per cent for US$450 million for 1-month tenor, 0.26 per cent for US$450 million for 3-month tenor and 0.36 per cent for US$200 million for 6-month tenor.

In a statement today, IILM said the sukūk reissuance today witnessed a competitive tender among Islamic primary dealers and investors across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets as well as Asia, with a strong order book in excess of US$1.94 billion, representing an average oversubscription rate of 1.76 times.

Chief executive officer Dr Umar Oseni said that year to date IILM has achieved cumulative issuances  totalling US$14.12 billion across 36 US dollar-denominated short-term sukūk series, which is the highest to date since its inaugural issuance in 2013.

“The IILM’s sukūk issuances during the year up to November accounts for 26 per cent of total global US dollar sukūk issuances.

“This year also marked for the first time since inception a full year that the IILM offers 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month tenors on a consistent monthly basis. It was indeed an outstanding year for the IILM despite the global market uncertainties,” he said.

Umar shared that the IILM was also ranked as the top US dollar-denominated sukūk issuer in the first half of 2021 by global data provider Refinitiv, with the highest monthly issuance size reaching US$1.4 billion in March.

“The lowest profit rates for the three main tenors of IILM sukūk recorded were 0.17 per cent for 1-month, 0.25 per cent for 3-month and 0.35 per cent for 6-month, reflecting the competitiveness of the IILM sukūk in the market.

“The October auction also witnessed the highest order book of over US$800 million for the 1-month issuance, reflecting the high interest on the shorter tenor from investors,” he said.

He noted that liquidity management has never been as important as it is now, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic and its mutating variants that have threatened market stability and global recovery.

In ensuring that financial institutions offering Islamic financial services are able to manage their liquidity effectively and efficiently, the IILM will continue to provide highly rated liquidity instruments backed by sovereign and sovereign-linked assets, he added.

-- BERNAMA