KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's US$1.5bil Global Sukuk issuance in late July 2026 attracted subscription demand of more than US$9.5bil (about RM38.1bil), the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the issuance of the two sukuk tranches recorded an oversubscription of 4.7 times, allowing the government to obtain the lowest spread in the history of Malaysia's Global Sukuk issuance.
“The strong demand enabled the government to reduce the spreads by 30 basis points (bps) from the initial price guidance for both tranches.
“This resulted in the 5.75-year maturity tranche being priced at 15 bps above the five-year US Treasury rate, at an annual yield of 4.612%, while the 10-year tranche was priced at 25 bps above the 10-year US Treasury rate, at an annual yield of 4.949%,” he said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (Nov 3).
He said this in response to Kalam Salan (PN-Sabak Bernam), who asked about the tangible benefits to the people of Malaysia's position as a global sukuk leader.
Kalam also asked whether sukuk issuances strengthened the country's finances or merely added to the government's debt and financial commitments, and how much the people and future generations would ultimately have to pay.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the spreads were almost equivalent to the issuance pricing of countries rated A1 and AA2, even though Malaysia has a sovereign credit rating of A3.
"This reflects confidence in Malaysia's credit prospects, driven by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and a commitment to fiscal discipline and ongoing structural reforms," he said.
He added that the government ensures that debt issuance is carried out within the established limits and legal framework.
He said that, following the issuance of the 2026 Global Sukuk, the government's offshore debt stood at RM23bil, which accounted for only about 1.7% of the total Federal Government debt and remained well below the statutory limit of RM35bil under the Foreign Loans Act 1963.
This relatively small offshore debt exposure also helps limit currency fluctuations and international market uncertainties, he said.
