Dubai: International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp, backed by a group of central banks located in Asia and the Middle East, is in the “final stages” of issuing its first sukuk or Islamic bond, Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on Wednesday.
Kuala Lumpur-headquartered IILM, established in 2010, was tasked with issuing short-term sukuk, or Islamic bonds, to help Sharia-compliant banks manage liquidity and create a liquid cross-border market for Islamic instruments. “The shareholders [of IILM] are in the process of supplying the underlying assets for the sukuk,” Zeti told reporters in the Malaysian capital. “There will be an announcement on this in the near term, it would be correct to say that it is in the final stages.”
She added the IILM has hired primary dealers to distribute its maiden sukuk, which IILM officials previously said would range between $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) and $500 million.
Issuance of this sukuk has been delayed twice, as IILM faces a major challenge to ensure compliance with laws in all 12 member countries.
IILM members include monetary authorities in Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as well as the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.
IILM elected a new chief executive in October last year.
