Central Bank of Bahrain oversubscribed for sukuk

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that its monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 365%. Subscriptions worth BD73 million were received for the BD20 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.

The expected return on the issue, which begins on 13 November 2014 and matures on 14 May 2015 is 0.82%, equivalent to 0.82% for the previous issue on 16 October 2014.

Sukuk Al-Ijara are issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This is issue No.111 (BH00015A8104) of the short-term Sukuk Al-Ijara series.

The bills, carrying a maturity of 182 days, are issued by the CBB, on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The issue date of the bills is 16 November 2014 and the maturity date is 17 May 2015.

The weighted average rate of interest is 0.80%, equivalent to 0.80% for the previous issue on 5 October 2014.

The approximate average price for the issue was 99.597%, with the lowest accepted price being 99.597%.

This is issue No. 1521 (ISIN BH000GQ96783) of Government Treasury Bills. With this, the total outstanding value of Government Treasury Bills is BD 1.230 billion. - See more at: http://www.noodls.com/view/94BA1FEE13C43706401218D552CDB1F8E07594A8?6842xxx1415788078#sthash.t2EeBpS8.dpuf

The bills, carrying a maturity of 182 days, are issued by the CBB, on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The issue date of the bills is 16 November 2014 and the maturity date is 17 May 2015.

The weighted average rate of interest is 0.80%, equivalent to 0.80% for the previous issue on 5 October 2014.

The approximate average price for the issue was 99.597%, with the lowest accepted price being 99.597%.

This is issue No. 1521 (ISIN BH000GQ96783) of Government Treasury Bills. With this, the total outstanding value of Government Treasury Bills is BD 1.230 billion. - See more at: http://www.noodls.com/view/94BA1FEE13C43706401218D552CDB1F8E07594A8?6842xxx1415788078#sthash.t2EeBpS8.dpuf

Bahrain sukuk oversubscribed for September

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that the September issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities for the BD36 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days, had been oversubscribed by 190%.

The expected return on the issue, which began on 24 September 2014 and matures on 24 December 2014, is 0.72%, compared with to 0.70% for the previous issue.

The securities are issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The CBB also said that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, had been oversubscribed in September by 335%. Subscriptions worth BD67 million were received for the BD20 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.

The expected return on the issue, which begans on 18 September 2014 and matures on 19 March 2015, is 0.80% compared to 0.77% for the previous issue on 14 August 2014.

In early September CBB announced that Bahrain has been named the GCC’s leading Islamic finance market for the second year in a row. The country is ranked second out of 92 countries worldwide, according to the ICD-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI).

As well as being highly ranked in terms of the Kingdom’s commitment to research and training and local awareness of the industry, Bahrain was also ranked as having the best governance in Islamic finance in the world, with the report praising the well-established regulatory framework covering all sectors, and high levels of disclosure.

The IFDI report, which was released during the Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF 2014) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is the only numerical measure representing the overall health and development of the Islamic finance industry worldwide. The IFDI is a measure of five key components that combine to depict the bigger picture of the state of Islamic finance in 92 countries, including quantitative development, governance, corporate social responsibility, knowledge and awareness.

HE Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the CBB (pictured left) said: “In 2001, the Central Bank's predecessor, the Bahrain Monetary Agency, played a leading role in the development of regulatory regimes for the workings of Islamic financial institutions for more than two decades and contributed to the introduction of shari'ah-compliant products and became the first central bank in the world to develop and issue sukuk; and Bahrain has continued to play a leading role in the introduction of these products through issuances. The ranking Bahrain has received is testament to the role we play in the Islamic finance industry.”

HE Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB (pictured right) commented: “We are delighted at the ranking that Bahrain has received and the recognition of the investment that the Kingdom has made in developing the industry both here and internationally.

“Islamic finance has an important role to play within the wider financial sector in Bahrain and the GCC and the growth that the sector has seen is testament to that. We are committed to helping the industry to grow in Bahrain, to working towards addressing ways of boosting international growth and also to working with countries across the world as they look to establish Islamic finance industries in their own markets."

Khalid Hamad, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, CBB (pictured left), commented: “The Islamic finance sector continues to expand rapidly, both regionally and internationally, and we are proud of the role we play in supporting its development, we will continue studying ways in which we can help to develop the industry – both here in Bahrain, by ensuring regulation continues to evolve and taking steps to strengthen the Kingdom’s Islamic finance institutions and internationally, by working with countries that wish to introduce Islamic banking. For example, in April this year we agreed a joint framework with the UK to enhance collaboration on Islamic finance at the UK-Bahrain Islamic Finance Summit in London.”

Bahrain is home to the largest concentration of Islamic financial institutions in the world, including 32 Islamic banks and takaful and retakaful firms. Bahrain also hosts a number of organisations dedicated to advancing Islamic finance policy and regulation, such as the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA), the Thomson Reuters Global Islamic Finance Hub and Deloitte’s Islamic Finance Knowledge Center, making the Kingdom a knowledge hub for the industry. 

Read more about the 2014 report here.

*All pictures from the CBB.

Bahrain's Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities oversubscribed by 306%

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced on 21 July that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities for the BD36 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days, has been oversubscribed by 306%.

The expected return on the issue, which begins on 23 July 2014 and matures on 22 October 2014, is 0.70%, unchanged from the previous issue.

The securities are issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The news follows a 15 July announcement that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, had been oversubscribed by 240%.

Subscriptions worth BD48 million were received for the BD20 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.

The expected return on the issue, which began on 17 July 2014 and matures on 15 January 2015, is 0.80 % compared to 0.85% for the previous issue on 19 June 2014.

Sukuk Al-Ijara are also issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.