Luxembourg plans roadshow for first sukuk issue

Luxembourg has appointed HSBC  and BNP Paribas as co-lead arrangers of its first issue of sovereign Islamic bonds, and is organising a roadshow for investors at the end of September, the country’s finance ministry said on Monday. 

The roadshow will visit London, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia and Qatar, the ministry said in an email to Reuters.

In July, Luxembourg’s parliament passed a bill allowing the AAA-rated government to issue sukuk later this year, becoming only the second European sovereign after Britain to tap the market.

The bill lets Luxembourg securitise three government properties to back sukuk worth 200 million euros ($268 million).

London and Luxembourg are among a number of countries worldwide which are seeking to expand their Islamic finance businesses as a way of attracting money from cash-rich investors in the Gulf and southeast Asia.