Global Sukuk Good for Infrastructure Development: Analyst
9 September 2014 17:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The government's plan to issue global sukuk worth US$1.5 billion last week was welcomed by investors. The positive response over the Islamic bonds product is expected to lessen the government's burden in financing infrastructure projects for the long haul.
"For the future, we expect more sukuk to avoid any mismatch in infrastructure financing," University of Indonesia economist Lana Soelistianingsih told Tempo last weekend.
Sukuks, according to Lana, could drive the real sector because it uses infrastructure as its underlying assets. Sukuk, which is a long-term deed, is very suitable for physical infrastructure that takes time to build.
The government plans to issue Indonesia's fifth global sukuk worth US$1.5 billion with a 10-year tenor. The global sukuk will be issued on September 10, 2014 by the Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III and will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The global sukuk is issued for a par price with a 4.35- fee percent. The sukuk received Baa3 ratings from Moody's, BB+ from Standard& Poor's, and BBB- from Fitch Ratings.
Meanwhile, Islamic economic observer, M. Syakir Sula, is optimistic that the global sukuk issuance will encourage Indonesia's sharia finance market to the Middle East.
AISHA SHAIDRA