Saudi Arabia raised approximately $6.4 billion through sukuk (Islamic bonds) in the first quarter of 2012, making it the largest sukuk issuer in the said period as the Kingdom surpassed the United Arab Emirates which chalked up only $1.9 billion in the same period, Zawya said in a quarterly bulletin. In total, sukuk issuances in the first quarter doubled to reach a record $43 billion worldwide — nearly half of the whole of 2011, Adnan Halawi, Team Leader Fixed Income at Zawya, said. He forecast that sukuk could reach $126 billion by the end of this year as compared to $85 billion last year. “Saudi Arabia was the star of the first quarter. In the absence of any conventional bonds out of the Kingdom, a flurry of sukuk made the headlines. In line with analyst expectations that the issuance of the first sovereign sukuk in the Kingdom would set the benchmark and trigger more issuance, General Authority of Civil Aviation's (GACA) $4 billion sukuk was shortly followed by a series of Islamic bonds by Almarai, Saudi Electricity Company — which sold its first global sukuk — and Saudi British Bank,” Halawi said. The UAE was the fourth largest issuer of Islamic bonds in the first quarter of 2012. “UAE's position as the top sukuk issuer in the GCC was shaken for the first time. Yet, the UAE had its share of firsts. Tamweel, First Gulf Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank sold sukuk. They were followed by Majid Al Futtaim Group's first foray into bond issuance in the form of sukuk. And Abu Dhabi National Energy Company sold its first sukuk in Malaysia,” Halawi said. Earlier this year, European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB) completed a strategic controlling investment in Rasmala. Rasmala manages approximately $650 million and has a regulated presence in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Egypt.
