A $75 million Islamic bond issue by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the first sukuk issued in the former Soviet Union, is likely to spur more issues in Central Asia’s largest economy, banking officials said on Thursday.
The 240 million five-year Malaysian ringgit ($75.5 million) issue on July 18, which generates an annual payment of 5.5 per cent, has set the benchmark for Islamic bond issuers in the former Soviet republic, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan said.
The issue is part of the bank’s 1.5 billion ringgit Islamic note programme under the sharia principle of murabaha, approved this year by the Malaysian central bank and the Sharia Advisory Council of the Securities Commission of Malaysia.
http://dawn.com/2012/07/26/kazakh-sukuk-debut-opens-to-door-to-islamic-finance/
