Despite global sukuk issuance falling to its lowest dollar-denominated value in three years, there were still plenty of debuts, innovations and ground-breaking developments last year, and Standard Chartered Saadiq was front and centre of that, making it Euromoney’s best sukuk house for 2024.
Its chief executive is Khurram Hilal.
The bank topped the international sukuk league table for the period, leading 35 transactions, worth a total of $4.8 billion, for a range of high-profile issuers from sovereigns and public-sector institutions to banks and corporates across sectors and geographies.
Some of the standout transactions include the debut sukuk for the Philippines and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, as well as green sukuk debuts and landmark transactions for Al Rajhi Bank, Aldar Investment Properties, real-estate developer PNC Investments, dairy company Almarai, logistics group DP World, Energy Development Oman, Ziraat Katilim and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
The core of the bank’s offering is its extensive Islamic banking network across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its Islamic banking team works alongside a global shariah advisory committee of scholars and local shariah supervisory committees for Pakistan, Malaysia, UAE and Brunei.
Such global and local coverage and expertise is powerful across the issuer spectrum, and particularly in one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic parts of the market: sustainable sukuk.
While still at a relatively young stage compared with sustainable bond issuance in non-Islamic format, sustainable sukuk sales have grown rapidly since 2017, with close to $11 billion of issuance – mostly in green format – globally last year.
Standard Chartered Saadiq topped the international sukuk league table, leading 35 transactions, worth a total of $4.8 billion
Standard Chartered has been a leading player in this segment, and again demonstrated its strength in lead arranging several green sukuks for returning issuers – Indonesia, Emirati retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim, and Saudi Electricity Company – and debut issuers, including DP World’s $1.5 billion 10-year, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s $500 million five-year, and Aldar’s $500 million 10-year.
The bank was also active on First Abu Dhabi Bank’s inaugural Dh1.3 billion ($350 million) green sukuk – the first transaction of its kind denominated in the UAE’s currency.
ADIB’s was the first ever dollar-denominated green sukuk from a financial institution globally – and came amid a volatile rates and geopolitical backdrop, highlighting Standard Chartered Saadiq’s execution, distribution and environmental, social and governance structuring capabilities.
