28 August 2016
DUBAI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Following are major Islamic bond issues in the global pipeline.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index was last at 122.29605 points, up from 116.97354 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 121.31371 points against 115.21206 at end-2015.

PAKISTAN - Pakistan plans an international issue of sukuk and is asking banks for expressions of interest in managing the sale, the finance ministry said in late August.

SHARJAH ISLAMIC BANK - Sharjah Islamic Bank said it would begin investor meetings on Aug. 29 for a potential benchmark U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk issue.

AHLI UNITED BANK KUWAIT - Ahli United Bank Kuwait has obtained approval from Kuwait's central bank to issue capital-boosting sukuk worth up to $200 million, the bank said in mid-August.

IVORY COAST - Ivory Coast plans to complete a sale of 150 billion CFA francs ($263 million) worth of seven-year sukuk on Aug. 31, the transaction's lead arranger said in early August.

MEEZAN BANK - Pakistan's Meezan Bank plans to raise 7 billion rupees ($67 million) for investment in its business operations, it said in a stock exchange filing in late August. The issue is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

INDONESIA - Indonesia's government launched its first issue of non-tradable sukuk for retail investors' savings, with a minimum purchase of just 2 million rupiah ($150) and an offer period of Aug. 22-Sept. 2.; the government aims to raise at least 2 trillion rupiah with the issue.

MITSUBISHI UFJ - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group set up a 20 billion ringgit ($5 billion) Islamic securitisation programme in Malaysia, a bank official told Reuters; under the programme, the bank said it was arranging a 900 million ringgit sukuk offer backed by auto loans of CIMB Islamic Bank.

NIGERIA - Nigeria's government now plans to issue its first sovereign sukuk in the first quarter of 2017, local media quoted a top Securities and Exchange Commission official as saying in early August.

MALAYSIA DEBT VENTURES - Technology financier Malaysia Debt Ventures plans issue 1 billion ringgit of sukuk in the fourth quarter of this year, Bernama news agency quoted its chief executive as saying in early August.

EKOVEST - Malaysia's Ekovest said in mid-July that its unit Lebuhraya Duke Fasa 3 had registered with the Securities Commission to launch an issue of up to 3.64 billion ringgit of sukuk wakala.

KUWAIT - Kuwait plans to issue up to 3 billion dinars ($10 billion) in U.S. dollar-denominated conventional bonds and sukuk in international markets, and borrow up to 2 billion dinars from the domestic market via conventional and Islamic instruments, to help plug its budget deficit for the current 2016-17 fiscal year, the finance minister said in early July.

MOROCCO - Morocco's central bank expects the government to issue its first sukuk in the domestic market "in the coming months", Lhassane Benhalima, the central bank's head of banking supervision, said at the end of June.

PAN-BORNEO HIGHWAY - Banks including CIMB, AmInvestment Bank, Maybank and RHB are working to finalise a 13 billion ringgit Islamic MTN programme to fund initial work on the Pan-Borneo Highway in East Malaysia, bankers said in mid-July; the first issue is expected to raise around 10 billion ringgit and the launch is timed for August or September. The sukuk would be issued through federal government funding vehicle DanaInfra Nasional.

CIMB - Malaysia's CIMB Bank is preparing a 1.35 billion sukuk issue to raise Tier 2 capital, bankers said in early July.

JAMBATAN KEDUA - Malaysia's Jambatan Kedua planned to launch bookbuilding in mid-July for the sale of federal government-guaranteed sukuk worth around 1.8 billion ringgit, bankers said.

ALUMINIUM BAHRAIN - Aluminium Bahrain plans to finance its $3 billion Line 6 expansion project through a mixture of loans from banks and export credit agencies and an international bond or sukuk issue, bankers said in June.

BANK AL BILAD - Saudi Arabia's Bank Al Bilad has received regulatory approval to issue capital-boosting sukuk worth as much as 2 billion riyals ($533.3 million), it said in mid-June.

ALMARAI - The board of Saudi Arabia's Almarai will use sukuk issuance among various methods to finance its business plan for 2017-2021, the Gulf's largest dairy firm said in early June.

LPPSA - Malaysia's Public Sector Home Financing Board (LPPSA) announced in early June a maiden 25 billion ringgit, three-year sukuk/conventional bond programme. "We expect the first issuance for the programme in July and around 7 billion to 10 billion ringgit to be issued this year, depending on market acceptance," its chairman said, Bernama news agency reported.

SAUDI REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT FUND - The Saudi Arabian government's Real Estate Development Fund aims to raise money for its operations by issuing sukuk, though the first issue is unlikely to occur before the end of 2017 because of tight liquidity in money markets, housing minister Majed al-Hogail said in early June.

PHILIPPINES - The Philippines' incoming finance minister Carlos Dominguez said in early June that he was open to diversifying the country's borrowings to fund infrastructure projects, including through sukuk.

GFH FINANCIAL - Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank GFH Financial plans to make a $150 million issue of sukuk, to repay outstanding debts and help to fund future investments, it said at the start of June.

MB HOLDING - Omani conglomerate MB Holding Co has hired banks to help it raise up to $150 million via a sukuk programme, bank officials said in late May.

BANK MUAMALAT - Malaysia's Bank Muamalat will set up a 1 billion ringgit sukuk programme, it said in late May after undertaking to redeem 400 million ringgit worth of subordinated sukuk on June 15.

SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka is in the process of borrowing up to $3.5 billion from foreign sources via syndicated loans, sovereign bonds and sukuk, the finance minister said in late May.

TURKIYE FINANS - Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi applied to raise as much as 17 million euros ($19 million) via sukuk, Turkey's Capital Markets Board said in May.

AKTIF BANK - Turkey's Aktif Bank applied to the Capital Markets Board in May to raise up to 100 million lira ($34 million) via sukuk.

SAUDI ARAMCO - The board of national oil giant Saudi Aramco approved the creation of a programme to issue sukuk in order to finance its role in the nation's economic reforms, the company said in late April without giving details.

SAUDIA - National carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has appointed HSBC as lead arranger for a 5 billion riyal sukuk issue to occur in the second half of the year, its director general said in April.

UNIVERSITY BANK - Michigan-based University Bank, a unit of University Bancorp, plans a debut sale of sukuk in the United States, the law firm advising on the transaction said in mid-April.

IRAN - A draft budget discussed by Iran's parliament in April called for issuance of 150 trillion rials ($4.4 billion at the free market exchange rate) of ijara sukuk, 75 trillion rials of Islamic treasury bills and 50 trillion rials of musharaka sukuk in the fiscal year.

AEON - Mall operator Aeon Co Malaysia established twin debt facilities to raise up to 1 billion ringgit in Islamic securities, rating agency RAM Ratings said in mid-April.

PUTRAJAYA BINA - Malaysia's Putrajaya Bina is establishing an Islamic medium-term note programme to raise up to 1.58 billion ringgit to construct new government office buildings, sources familiar with the plan said in early March.

BANK SYARIAH MANDIRI - Indonesia's Bank Syariah Mandiri plans to issue sukuk worth 1 trillion rupiah this year to refinance its expiring subordinated notes, which were issued in 2011, the Jakarta Post quoted president director Agus Sudiarto as saying in early March.

KENYA - Kenya is reviewing all laws and regulations governing its nascent Islamic finance industry to aid its debut sovereign sukuk issue, its attorney general said in mid-February. The Treasury has said it is looking at the possibility of issuing the sukuk in the 2016/17 fiscal year starting in July, but has not offered details.

CAHYA MATA - Malaysian cement manufacturer Cahya Mata Sarawak is considering an issuance of sukuk off a proposed 1 billion ringgit programme, bankers said in late February. No timing has been fixed.

SAUDI ELECTRICITY - Saudi Electricity Co said in mid-February that its board had approved expanding the amount of its planned U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk programme to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion.

MALTA - The Malta Stock Exchange launched in early February an Islamic equity index aiming to attract business from Middle East firms, a move it hopes will also prompt the government to issue sukuk, senior executives told Reuters.

KUWAIT PETROLEUM CORP - The chief executive of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp said in late January that the company was studying means of finance including sukuk.

QATAR - The government of Qatar is in talks with banks about a sovereign sukuk issue as soon as March or April, sources aware of the matter said in late January.

TENAGA NASIONAL - Malaysian power utility Tenaga Nasional said in early January it was in the preliminary stages of setting up a multi-currency sukuk programme. It added that any future potential sukuk issues would depend on successful completion of prospective transactions.

(Compiled by Andrew Torchia)

© Reuters 2016