The International Finance Corporation, an affiliate of the World Bank, has announced the listing of its dollar-denominated $100 million issue on Nasdaq-Dubai, the DIFC’s international exchange.

The IFC Hilal Sukuk, which has been given a AAA rating with a five-year maturity, has set a milestone for Islamic Finance and for financial markets in the GCC, said a DIFC statement.

It is the first time that a non-Islamic financial institution has issued a Sharia compliant security for term funding. By issuing a Sukuk, the IFC and the World Bank have recognised Shari’a compliant finance and securities as bona fide, valid, and acceptable financial instruments, the statement added.

It is also the first time that a sizeable Sukuk will be listed exclusively in the Gulf, i.e. on Nasdaq Dubai and the Bahrain Stock Exchange, which represents an acknowledgment of the progress made by the emerging financial sector in the region, in terms of liquidity, but more importantly in terms of the trading, clearing and settlement, and the legal and regulatory environment, it said.

In fact the contractual terms of this IFC Sukuk are established under DIFC law (based on English common law), which receives, by a leading issuer, an implicit endorsement as a sound framework on par with those of other well-established jurisdictions.

The Hilal Sukuk was arranged by a regional syndicate including Dubai Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House Bahrain, HSBC Amanah and Liquidity Management House, the DIFC statement added.-TradeArabia News Service