Sukuk is an Arabic “legal instrument, deed, check” for a financial certificate or termed as an Islamic equivalent of bond that complies with Sharia, Islamic religious law.
Because the traditional Western interest paying bond structure is not permissible, the issuer of a sukuk sells an investor group the certificate, who then rents it back to the issuer for a predetermined rental fee. The issuer also makes a contractual promise to buy back the bonds at a future date at par value. Sukuks must be able to link the returns and cash flows of the financing to the assets purchased, or the returns generated from an asset purchased. This is because trading in debt is prohibited under Sharia. As such, financing must only be raised for identifiable assets.
General Electric may tap islamic bond market in first sukuk sale
17 October, 2009
General Electric Co., the world’s biggest provider of power-generation equipment and services, may sell sukuk in its first offering of Islamic bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.GE’s General Electric Capital Corp. unit hired Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to arrange meetings with sukuk and traditional bond investors, according to two bankers with knowledge of the promotional tour for the debt.
GE Capital is meeting with Islamic investors as rising oil prices increase liquidity in the Middle East’s crude-producing economies and the sukuk market shows signs of recovery.
Crude oil in New York rose $ 1.50, or 2 per cent, to $ 77.58 at 2:20 p.m. after reaching $ 77.97, a one-year high.“There is a very healthy appetite for Islamic issuance at this time,” said Nish Popat, head of fixed income at ING Investment Management in Dubai. “GE is looking to tap into this investor base with oil hitting new highs.” GE said in July 2008 it formed an $ 8 billion venture with Mubadala Development Co., Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment company, to invest in emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa.
AP
