Since being brought to market 30 years ago, Sukuk have enjoyed continued growth within Islamic finance, and have proved resilient to the impact of COVID-19. Find out how a new app from Refinitiv Eikon enables investors to keep up to date with the market by providing comprehensive content and data.
- The first Sukuk was brought to market in 1990. Today, the total issuance is more than $1.35trn, around 90 percent of which were issued in the past 10 years and 55 percent in the past five.
- In 2020, the market has proved resilient to the impact of COVID-19. In the first nine months of the year, issuance reached a total of $130.5bn, compared with $127.3bn for the same period in 2019.
- How does a new app from Refinitiv Eikon provide investors with a comprehensive view of the market?
For more data-driven insights in your Inbox, subscribe to the Refinitiv Perspectives weekly newsletter.
Sukuk have come a long way since the world’s first was brought to market in 1990.
Today, total issuance surpasses $1.35 trillion, and over 15,000 have been issued by a variety of corporate, sovereign and quasi-sovereign bodies across 31 countries.
Around 90 percent were issued in the past 10 years, and 55 percent in the past five. Their growth and development was further accelerated when several non-Muslim countries issued their debut Sukuk, including Hong Kong, Luxembourg, South Africa, Senegal, and the United Kingdom.
Sukuk is an Arabic word that means ‘certificates’. In finance, it stands for bonds that are structured in a Shariah-compliant manner. In other terms, it is a form of bonds that is accepted by Islamic finance investors and issuers.
They come in various structures such as Ijara, Murabaha, Modarabah, and many other forms. Sukuk investment also takes into account that the raised funds are invested in areas that do not contradict Islamic laws.
The impact of COVID-19
In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the market has proved resilient. According to the Refinitiv Islamic Finance research team, in the first nine months of the year, issuance was a total of $130.5bn, compared with $127.3bn for the same period in 2019.
The growth has been further supported by innovations such as the introduction of green, blockchain and inflation-linked Sukuk.
Sukuk remains the most sought-after asset class in the Islamic finance industry. On Refinitiv Eikon, Sukuk content is the most accessed Islamic finance asset class. Almost 2,000 unique users access the data every month.
For up-to-date news, read the Sukuk Bulletin Q1 2021
How can Sukuk Now help investors?
To help provide a panoramic overview of the market and allow our clients to access all related content from a single source, Refinitiv has recently launched the Sukuk Now app.
Watch the video — Eikon: Sukuk Now
The app provides access to comprehensive content, including analytical tools, news, research, prices, indices, pipeline, league tables, prospectuses, and other documents.
The page simplifies the user experience, saving time on navigation and analysis by offering shortcut analysis links, charts, and quick access to the most popular topics, such as green, perpetual, and AAOIFI-compliant Sukuk.
How the app saves time and simplifies the work of users:
- Investors identify opportunities using the Pipeline and Announced Sukuk section, real-time news, top issuers, and most common structures.
- Traders are able to assess the secondary market prices and key indices.
- Research analysts and academics can analyze market trends.
- Users can browse a library of guidance notes, product structuring, fatawa, prospectuses and regulations.
