KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has accorded ‘Emas’ status to the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd’s (EXIM) US$300 million (RM950.36 million) sukuk issuance.
BNM Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz conferred the status Tuesday at the Global Islamic Finance Forum 2014 organised by it. This is the 14th issuance to be granted the ‘Emas’ status by BNM.
Issued in February this year, EXIM’s sukuk represents the first by an export-import bank and has attracted demand of more than 10 times its issuance size. The ‘Emas’ status is accorded by Malaysia on foreign currency denominated bonds and sukuks originating from the country for the global capital market.
Since its introduction in 2009, a total of US$10.53 billion (RM33.27 billion) foreign-currency denominated Emas sukuk have been issued by sovereigns, multi-lateral development banks, and multinational corporations.
‘Emas’ is the Malay word for gold, which symbolises universal value and security, and the designation represents Malaysia’s commitment to the internationalisation of Islamic finance.
-BERNAMA
