وبلاگ شخصی اکبر زواری رضائی

It has been reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are nearing the issuance of their 2012 debut sukuk but whether the sovereign Saudi Arabia is any nearer to issuing a debut sukuk in early 2012 as market speculation suggests must remain a moot point.

The Kingdom has the potential to become the world leader in sukuk issuance but the lack of government policy support; regulatory inertia to facilitate origination; untried and untested court procedure especially relating to sukuk default and the rights of sukuk certificate holders over other creditors; and the near absence of secondary trading of sukuk despite the fact that the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) did launch a trading platform in 2009, all conspire to hold back the systemic and holistic development of a Saudi sukuk market.

Saudi quasi-sovereign entities including Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer and exporter have in the recent past talked about raising funds from the financial markets including through sukuk issuances, but nothing has materialized thus far. Saudi Aramco though has accessed several Islamic financing facilities over the last two years, and some of its joint ventures such as Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total S.A. of France, did successfully close its debut SR3.75 billion sukuk in October.

Saudi Aramco, however, has the potential of almost single-handedly influencing the development of the Saudi and the global sukuk market. Saudi Aramco could be the "swing producer" equivalent for the sukuk and Islamic capital market, given the projected $160 billion or so project financing that it has earmarked over the next decade or so.