KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, the largest issuer of sukuk in the world, will continue to drive the growth of Islamic bonds said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The 2016 Budget, for instance, has provided tax deductions on the issuance costs of SRI sukuk.
“This combines the principles of Syariah with sustainable, responsible and impactful investing while it broadens the appeal of Islamic finance internationally,” he said in his keynote address at the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum.
Khazanah Nasional issued the first ringgit SRI sukuk called Sukuk Ihsan which was fully subscribed in June this year.
Sukuk has gained real momentum in recent years.
In 2014, the total global sukuk outstanding was over US$300 billion.
Last year alone, a number of non-Muslim countries launched sovereign sukuk namely the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, South Africa and Luxembourg.
It is also gaining a foothold among corporates and supranational bodies such as the International Finance facility for Immunisation, a body under the World Bank which recently issued its second sukuk.