Malaysia sukuk sales jump to 16-month high as confidence returns

[KUALA LUMPUR] Islamic bond sales in Malaysia jumped this month to the most since December 2013, adding to signs confidence is returning to the world's biggest sukuk market.

Issuance was 23 per cent higher than in March at 11.3 billion ringgit (S$4.24 billion), according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. accounted for 2 billion ringgit and DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, a state-owned company that funds subway construction, raised 3.5 billion ringgit. Malaysia's government drew bids for six times the US$1.5 billion of dollar-denominated sukuk it offered last week and the ringgit is having its best month in three years.

Malaysia is the only net oil exporter among Asia's major economies and its fortunes are heavily influenced by swings in the price of Brent crude, which rebounded 19 per cent this month after slumping in the past three quarters. The ringgit was Asia's worst-performing currency of the last six months after the yen and Fitch Ratings signaled in March the nation's credit rating would probably be downgraded in a coming review.