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Best sukuk house
Best Islamic project finance house
Although it is no longer the multi-jurisdiction Islamic finance power it once was, HSBC remains the most successful player in international sukuk. During the period under review it raised the greatest dollar amount of international sukuk, the most by far from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the most Islamic bonds overall – $6.609 billion in 109 issues.
However, it’s not just volume that wins HSBC this award, but the quality and innovation of many of the transactions. HSBC was a lead manager on our deal of the year for Saudi Electricity, on the tier 1 sukuk we highlight in giving Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank the best bank in the Middle East award, and on the Almarai perpetual corporate hybrid that won our local-currency award.
Other highlights have included a $1 billion tier 1 capital sukuk from Dubai Islamic Bank, a dual-tranche sukuk from Malaysia’s Sime Darby, a tier 2 sukuk from Bank Asya, a SR15.2 billion ($4.05 billion) issue for Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation – the biggest single-tranche sukuk ever issued – and a M$200 million sukuk from Al Bayan Group, the first Saudi issue in ringgit.
Bank capital and Saudi Arabian issues were the hallmark of the year, rather than sovereign deals, but the most recent landmark deals immediately before our review period, Indonesia and Turkey, both featured HSBC. The bank also excels in cross-border sukuks.
It was not a vintage year for project finance, with the vast majority of activity concentrated in just two countries: Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. HSBC, always a leader in project finance anyway, is particularly strong in those markets and was involved in most of the key transactions there.
Over the past 18 months, HSBC has brought eight Islamic project finance deals to financial close. Most involve Saudi petrochemicals: a $840 million complex called Samapco, using istisna, ijarah and commodity murabaha techniques; a $1.3 billion refinancing for SEPC; a $3.2 billion expansion of the Kemya complex; a financing for another, Sadara, involving the largest ever project sukuk of $2 billion; the first polysilicon manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, PTC; and a refinancing and expansion of International Diol Company. Also, at the time of writing, HSBC was mandated on three other continuing projects in Saudi Arabia: a phosphate project, another chemical project and a power plant.
In Malaysia, HSBC was a lead arranger on Tenaga Nasional’s power project financing, and another for Teknologi Tenaga Perlis.
