KFH: Sukuk issuance worldwide amount to USD 5 bln in July

A report issued by the Kuwait Finance House (KFH) said on Sunday that sukuk (financl certificates) issuance last July worldwide amounted to about USD five billion, down from the previous month by 37 percent, where the Saudi riyal formed about 15 percent of those sukuk. The report, issued by the (Baitek Research Co) of KFH said that the sovereign sukuk topped issuances in July, including three versions of sukuk for Saudi and Qatari companies. It added that the sukuk market for companies in the GCC countries continued to expand this year though the issuance of two local versions from Saudi Arabia and an international sukuk from Qatar. The report pointed out that despite the decline in monthly releases by 37 percent compared with last June, the main sukuk market continued its annual increment by 133 percent in this month, thereby increasing the value of annual releases to USD 52.1 billion.