Monetary Authority of Singapore Sukuk Program

First published in Islamic Finance News Deals of the Year Handbook 2009

A milestone in the continuing development of the Islamic financing industry in Singapore was reached in 2009 when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) established its S$200 million (US$145 million) Sukuk Al-Ijarah Trust Certificate Issuance Program. The program marked the first issuance in the Islamic finance market of Sukuk with the highest credit quality. It is especially significant when viewed in the larger context of developments designed to foster the growth of Islamic finance in Singapore. This program is one part of a two-pronged approach of providing both a conducive regulatory framework and high quality liquidity assets for financial institutions to undertake Islamic finance transactions, with the aim of promoting the Islamic finance market in Singapore.

Innovative and Flexible Structure

The program is based on a Shariah-compliant Ijarah (sale and leaseback) structure and is the Shariah-compliant equivalent of Singapore Government Securities (SGS). The trust certificates issued under the program (Sukuk) are of the highest credit standing and will be given equal regulatory treatment as SGS. Returns under the Sukuk will be tied to the...