Investors conferences on sukuk bonds were held on Monday with the inaugural conference held in Abu Dhabi in the morning followed by the second conference in Dubai later in the afternoon.
Both the meetings were well received by a wide range of quality investors, including fund managers, private banks, and local and international financial institutions.
Having successfully concluded the Middle East road shows/investors conferences, the Pakistan team led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar left Dubai for London. A US Dollar denominated benchmark 144A/Regulation Sukuk transaction would follow subject to market conditions and investors response after conclusion of investors’ conferences today in Singapore and London.
Riding on the recent successful Euro-Bond issue in April, 2014 which was oversubscribed fourteen times, but the government decided to take only US $2 billion against offers of over US $7billion, and announced that the government had priority for Shariah-compliant bonds (Sukuk) for giving an equal chance to Islamic investors in Islamic papers.
Therefore, the economic team has now embarked upon tapping the fast growing and highly liquid base of sukuk investors to consolidate macro-economic stability direction and enhance the forex reserves of the country. Universal acceptance of sukuk as a strong alternative to regular conventional bonds and earlier announced in April 2014 are key drivers for this beginning which has already witnessed significant interest from investors in the Middle East. Successful conclusion will assist the country to continue its wide-ranging development plans in the energy, infrastructure and other essential sectors.
The group meetings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were well received by a wide range of quality investors, including fund managers, private banks, and local and international financial institutions.
GB F�e’8�%:16.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:”Times New Roman”‘>The capital position of the banking system would further strengthen due to expected fresh capital inflows and improving profitability. The continuous improvement in capital base of the banks clearly contradicted the rumours currently circulating in the media.
“The SBP assures the public that its policies are directed towards safeguarding the interest of depositors and stability of the banking system,” said the bank.
Regulatory action like the one taken in respect of KASB Bank only aimed at resolving the problems faced by the institution thus protecting depositors’ interest, it added.