Kuwait Finance House Investment Company (KFH-Investment) has participated in arranging USD 750 mln debut sukuk for the emirate of Sharjah.

Emad Al Monayea, Board Director and Chief Executive Officer, “KFH-Investment” stated that the sukuk witnessed 10-time oversubscription where order book was about USD7.85 billion from 250 accounts. He added that the government plans to continue to use borrowing to fund priority capital investment, particularly where it generates a financial and economic return. He went on to say that the government of Sharjah's debut sukuk offering reflects the growing interest in Islamic finance as a source of sovereign funding.

He explained that rating agencies Moody’s and S&Ps assigned sukuk A and A3 ratings supported by the stable future outlook; and the robust financial position of the emirate, in addition to being a member of the UAE.

Talking about the allocation of the debut sukuk, he said that Middle East is 50 per cent, UK 20 per cent, rest of Europe 11 per cent, Asia 14 per cent and others five per cent.

He highlighted the importance of appointing KFH to participate in arranging the sukuk which is a testimony of its robustness and strong financial position. In addition, it reflects KFH’s investors’ and clients’ confidence.

It’s worth noting that Sharjah appointed HSBC, “KFH-Investment”, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered to participate in the sukuk arrangement.