UK to launch Islamic bond ‘within weeks’

Britain is to become the first non-Muslim country in the world to issue an Islamic bond, after the Government accelerated plans allowing banks to arrange a five-year, £200 million sukuk.

As part of an attempt to make London the western centre for Islamic finance, George Osborne in his annual Mansion House speech last night said the aim was to issue the bond “in the next few weeks”.

A roadshow kick offs on Tuesday in Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur, then moving on to Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, before ending in London on June 20.

HSBC was appointed to arrange the UK bond in January. It has since added four further banks to the syndicate – Standard Chartered, Qatar’s Barwa Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Malaysia’s CIMB.