We partner with IILM to close landmark Sukuk bond

Standard Chartered Bank has helped close a landmark inaugural Sukuk bond issuance from the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), the world’s newest supranational.

The Bank is a primary dealer for the USD490 million short term sukuk and is the only global bank in IILM’s primary dealer network.

Standard Chartered was nominated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is one of IILM’s Governing Board members.

IILM is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz was the first Governing Board chairperson and is currently the chairperson of its Board Executive Committee.

Osman Morad, Managing Director & CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia said: “We are proud to be the only global bank to be appointed a primary dealer for the programme. It demonstrates our Here for good brand promise as we extend our commitment to support financial institutions, markets and regulators across our footprints in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our commitment to the IILM programme showcases our ability as the only global bank that offers end-to-end Islamic financial solutions across multiple locations.”

Leon Koay, Head of Global Markets & Co-head of Wholesale Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia said: “This is a significant milestone as the first Shariah compliant US dollar denominated short-term highly rated financial instrument in the market to be issued at maturities below one year. It addresses a pressing need for dollar denominated Islamic liquidity instruments on the short end. IILM sukuk will be tradable globally via Euroclear and will be an elegant complement to the long and medium term Sukuk currently available in the global Islamic financial market.”

The landmark issuance carries an A-1 rating by Standard & Poor’s and is backed by Shariah compliant sovereign assets.

It is the first tranche of an approved USD2 billion programme by the IILM to create US dollar cross border liquidity instruments for use by Islamic financial institutions globally.

The Sukuk aims to help address the challenges that Islamic financial institutions have been facing globally with regard to the availability of highly rated short-term financial instruments to manage their liquidity compared to their conventional counterparts.

Shareholders of the IILM comprise central banks and monetary agencies as well as multilateral institutions.

Current members of the IILM Governing Board are the central banks and monetary agencies of Indonesia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Development Bank Group.


Note to Editors:

Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Standard Chartered PLC is a leading international bank, listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It has operated for over 150 years in some of the world’s most dynamic markets and earns around 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This geographic focus and commitment to developing deep relationships with clients and customers has driven the Bank’s growth in recent years.

With 1700 offices in 70 markets, Standard Chartered offers exciting and challenging international career opportunities for its 75,000 staff. The Bank is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. This heritage and these values are expressed in its brand promise, ‘Here for good’.

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