Saturday, May 28, 2016

Sharjah: Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), a Sharia-compliant commercial bank in the UAE, has successfully repaid a $400 million (Dh1.46 billion) sukuk.

The sukuk had been issued in May 2011 with the fund used for general corporate purposes and business expansion of SIB.

Ahmad Sa’ad, Deputy CEO of SIB, said the bank’s liquidity remains strong and the quality of the banks assets are in line with peers. According to a statement on Saturday, SIB chose to repay the sukuk through its internal sources, which was evidence of the banks “excellent liquidity position.” SIB holds an A3 grade rating from Moody’s and BBB+ by S&P and Fitch Ratings.

Mohammad Abdullah, CEO of SIB, thanked investors for their trust in SIB. “SIB believes that the capital markets to be an opportunity for growth for Islamic Banks and we, at SIB, would look to tap the markets at appropriate times. Sukuk allow us to diversify our funding sources and engage with investors on various opportunities,” he said.

SIB currently has two Sukuk of $500 million outstanding, which are set to mature in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

SIB is the largest bank in the emirate of Sharjah and has a 31.3 per cent shareholding by the Government of Sharjah and 20 per cent by Kuwait Finance House with the balance held by the public.

As of March 31, 2016, SIB posted a 22.9 per cent year-on-year increase to attain a net profit of Dh131.9 million with total assets at Dh30.15 billion and shareholders’ equity at Dh4.6 billion.

Staff Report

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