Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 06 December 2022.

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), an international organisation that develops and issues short-term Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments, has successfully reissued a total of USD 1.21 billion short-term Ṣukūk across three different tenors of one, three and six-month respectively.

The three series were priced competitively at:

i) 4.25% for USD 450 million for 1-month tenor;

ii) 5.05% for USD 340 million for 3-month tenor; and

iii) 5.35% for USD 420 million for 6-month tenor.

In its thirteenth and final auction for 2022, the IILM’s Ṣukūk reissuance today witnessed a competitive tender among Islamic Primary Dealers and investors across the GCC markets as well as Asia, with a strong orderbook in excess of USD 1.71 billion, representing an average bid-to-cover ratio of 141%.

Dr. Umar Oseni, Chief Executive Officer of the IILM, said: “With the conclusion of today’s successful issuance, the IILM has achieved year-to-date cumulative issuances totaling USD 13.88 billion across 37 US dollar-denominated short-term Ṣukūk series.

Furthermore, the IILM’s Ṣukūk issuances during the year accounts for 39% of total global US dollar Ṣukūk issuances. 2022 has been nothing short of an extraordinary year for the IILM, with multiple key achievements that validate the IILM’s short-term Ṣukūk programme as an integral part of the wider Islamic finance ecosystem.”

“Despite the uncertain market conditions due to the global tightening rate environment and investors remaining cautious, the IILM successfully issued the 12-month tenor in July for the very first time and the second time in October with a size of USD 250 million each, which was well received by investors with a bid-to-cover ratio of 185% and 198% respectively.”

“The new 12-month issuance was part of a wider effort to meet the growing demand of investors for such tenor and the IILM is pleased to have been able to deliver on its mandate to supply the market with wide-ranging liquidity management instruments and fulfil this long-lasting demand and subsequently, contribute to the stability of the wider Islamic finance industry.”

“The IILM also achieved a key landmark in September 2022 through obtaining its second international short-term credit rating from Fitch Ratings of “F1”, which reaffirms the strong fundamentals of the IILM Ṣukūk programme and solidifies the organisation’s high quality liquidity management solutions,” Dr. Umar added.

Since its inaugural issuance in 2013, the IILM has issued a total of USD 89.42 billion across 198 short-term Ṣukūk issuances ranging from 2-week to 12-month tenor, reflecting the organisation’s ability to provide high quality Shari’ah compliant instruments and reliable offerings to both Primary Dealers and investors.

The IILM was also ranked as the top global multilateral institution Ṣukūk issuer in the first half of 2022, according to global data provider Refinitiv, with the highest monthly issuance size reaching USD 1.51 billion in May, which was split into two separate auctions for the month.

In addition, the IILM’s short-term Ṣukūk issuance in April this year saw the highest ever size of USD 600 million for the 1-month tenor since inception, to address the increasing demand from investors for the shorter tenor on the back of aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

Despite ongoing concerns surrounding high-interest rates and the possibility of a global recession, the IILM recorded several new investors during the year from different countries and regions in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe, as the IILM Ṣukūk gains traction among different types of investors across the globe.

The secondary market trading of the IILM Ṣukūk, meanwhile, stood at USD 2.04 billion through 264 trades in 2022 (the highest ever recorded to date), compared to USD 1.5 billion through 150 trades in 2021.

Looking ahead into 2023, the IILM will continue to focus on developing its programme with new features and diversify its investor base and thus, enhancing the liquidity for the IILM Ṣukūk on the secondary market. The Issuance Calendar for 2023 will be released before the end of the year.

The IILM is a regular issuer of short-term Ṣukūk across varying tenors and amounts to cater to the liquidity needs of institutions offering Islamic financial services. The total amount of IILM Ṣukūk outstanding is now USD 3.51 billion.

The IILM’s short-term Sukῡk is distributed by a diversified network of 10 primary dealers globally, namely Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Turk, Boubyan Bank, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad, Dukhan Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Maybank Islamic Berhad, Qatar Islamic Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The IILM short-term Ṣukūk programme is rated “A-1” by S&P and “F1” by Fitch Ratings

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