UK's hopes for sukuk bonds

Synopsis

The UK government announces plans to resurrect long dormant initiatives to issue Islamic bonds, known as sukuk. These financial instruments are developed in collaboration with bankers, lawyers, and Muslim clerics to comply with Islamic prohibitions on interest. The UK aims to enhance its reputation in Islamic finance and attract infrastructure investments from devout Islamic countries, particularly in the Gulf region. Neil Miller, global head of Islamic finance at Linklaters, discusses the significant growth of Islamic bond sales, which have surged from virtually nothing a decade ago to several hundred billion dollars today. This growth is driven by the desire in the Muslim world, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Malaysia, to strengthen the Islamic financial approach. The UK’s renewed efforts come after previous disappointments in issuing sukuk, which had been anticipated by industry experts who had invested considerable time in developing the Islamic finance sector.