The USD250 million Al-Ijarah Sukuk is the fifth Syariah compliant financial instrument to be listed on LFX and the second instrument from the Middle East after the USD700 million Qatar sukuk earlier this year.

The listing of Al-Ijarah Sukuk brings the total number of listings on LFX to 17, with a combined market capitalisation of USD7.25 billion (RM27.55billion).

The USD250 million Al Ijarah Sukuk was issued on behalf of the Government of Bahrain by BMA International Sukuk Company (SPC) which is wholly-owned by the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA). The BMA is Bahrain’s central bank and regulator of its financial sector. 

The BMA Sukuk, which was issued on 30 June 2004, has a primary listing on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LSE) on 5 July 2004 and Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) on 12 July 2004.

“Today’s listing further proves LFX’s diversity in listing a comprehensive range of multi-currency financial instruments based on both Syariah and conventional principles,” said LFX Board Member, Yusli Mohamed Yusoff.

Yusli, who is also Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia Berhad, the holding company of LFX, said the BMA Sukuk listing is one of the positive outcomes of recent promotional efforts by LFX in the Middle East.

"Such initiatives include the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered into with the Bahrain Stock Exchange in May 2003 aimed at jointly promoting and developing the Islamic capital market leading to secondary and dual listings of instruments on both exchanges.

“Today’s listing is also reciprocal to the secondary listing on the BSE, in September last year, of the USD600 million Malaysia Global Sukuk Al-Ijarah which was earlier listed on LSE and LFX.

“We are looking forward to seeing more of such listings on both LFX and BSE in the years ahead,” Yusli said.

The listing sponsor for the secondary listing of the BMA Sukuk on LFX is Bank Islam (L) Limited (BILL) which will be responsible for ensuring that BMA complies with the post-listing obligations as prescribed by LFX’s rules and regulation. BILL was also the listing sponsor for the primary listing of Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad's USD150 million Serial Islamic Lease Sukuk, which is the first US dollar denominated international Islamic investment papers tradable on an exchange.

The BMA Sukuk, which has an A- rating by Standard & Poors Rating Services is yet another development in the emerging Islamic finance which seeks to supply the increasing demand for Syariah compliant market investments. The Sukuk had also been endorsed by the International Islamic Financial Market (“IIFM”) on 1 January 2004. IIFM, which also has a formal working relationship with LFX is a Bahrain-based Islamic Institution established with the intention to create harmonisation in Islamic capital market products and instruments for global reach and acceptance.

The word “Sukuk” means Islamic certificates or Notes. The mechanics of Sukuk is similar to Trust Certificates issued by other conventional issuers. Other Islamic instruments on LFX are the Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad Serial Islamic Lease Sukuks due 2004 and 2006, Government of Malaysia Global Sukuk Trust Certificates due 2007 and the Qatar Sukuk due 2010.

As a web-based exchange at www.lfx.com.my, LFX offers market participants and investors around the world, fast and efficient access to its services. Wholly owned by the Bursa Malaysia Berhad, LFX is an international offshore financial exchange that facilitates the listing of a multitude of multi-currency instruments and allows the issuer the flexibility to structure the instruments that best suit their funding needs.