Synthetic sukuk issuance set to rise

Dealers are predicting that a new wave of synthetic sukuk products will emerge this year, including repurchase agreements (repos) and credit default swaps (CDSs). This follows record issuance in the cash sukuk market in 2006.

The first sharia-compliant repo should emerge as early as this month, says Luma Saqqaf, head of Islamic finance at law firm Linklaters in Dubai. The deal, between a Middle East bank and corporate, is likely to be worth a few hundred million dollars notional, although Saqqaf