Sukuk bond oversubscribed

Subscription peaks $2.7 billion

ISLAMABAD:

The government raised $1 billion through the issuance of international Sukuk, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, suggesting that the transaction generated great interest as leading global investors from Asia, Middle East, Europe and the US participated in the order book.

The ministry said that the response was overwhelmingly strong and the order-books were oversubscribed – peaked at $2.7 billion – consisting of orders from high quality investors. “After careful consideration, the government decided to raise US$ 1 billion,” it added.

This is the first issuance under the government’s newly-established ‘Trust Certificate Issuance Programme’ and the first time that government issued International Sukuk with a 7 Year maturity.

The programme will allow Pakistan to tap the market at short notice. The government intends to make full use of this programme and become a regular issuer of Sukuk in the international capital markets.