Malaysia sukuk drought seen easing this quarter

Azahari: ‘It’s a challenging time for arrangers and issuers.’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies building railways and power plants under Prime Minister Najib Razak’s US$444bil development programme will help revive sukuk sales from the slowest quarter since 2010, said AmInvestment Bank Bhd.

Corporate issuance could rise to as much as RM60bil (US$13.5bil) for the full year, said Mohd Effendi Abdullah, head of Islamic markets at Kuala Lumpur-based AmInvestment Bank, after sales slumped to RM7.2bil in the third quarter. While the forecast would mark a pick-up from the RM31.5bil sold so far this year, offerings would still remain below levels for the past three.