IILM achieves milestone with new highly rated USD 500 million asset from the GCC, elevating its oustanding short-term Sukūk to historic high

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 27 May 2025

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), an international organisation that develops and issues short-term Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments, is pleased to announce that its outstanding short-term Ṣukūk portfolio has reached a new record-high of USD 5.7 billion following the successful addition of a USD 500 million highly rated Ṣukūk asset by a sovereign-owned entity in the GCC.

This significant development reflects the IILM’s continued commitment to providing high-quality, Shari’ah-compliant liquidity management instruments for the global Islamic finance market. The increase in underlying assets enhances the organisation’s capacity to issue short-term Ṣukūk to meet the growing demand from a broad base of global investors.

Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid, Chief Executive Officer of the IILM, said: “Today’s auction marks another historic and significant milestone in the IILM’s growth trajectory with the inclusion of a new highly rated USD 500 million Ṣukūk asset. This addition not only bolsters our issuance capacity but also enhances the diversification of our asset pool across the GCC region. It represents a huge strategic step forward in expanding our geographical footprint as well as strengthening the credit quality and resilience of the IILM Ṣukūk programme.”

“Reaching an all-time high of USD 5.7 billion in outstanding short-term Ṣukūk is a testament to the robustness of our unique business model and continued the trust placed in the IILM by our investors and network of highly rated asset obligors. This milestone underscores the growing demand for reliable, Shari’ah-compliant liquidity instruments and highlights the IILM’s evolving role as a key player in the global Islamic finance ecosystem.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with an expanding network of globally respected institutions as we continue to support the development of robust, Shari’ah-compliant liquidity management tools for the Islamic financial market. This latest development reaffirms the IILM’s commitment to delivering transparent, consistent, creditworthy, and liquidity solutions to Islamic financial institutions worldwide.”

With the inclusion of the new asset today, the IILM successfully concluded the reissuance and issuance of an aggregate USD 1.28 billion across three different tenors of one, three, and six-month respectively.

The three series were priced competitively at:
i) 4.55% for USD 540 million for 1-month tenor;
ii) 4.55% for USD 400 million for 3-month tenor; and,
iii) 4.55% for USD 340 million for 6-month tenor.

This marks the IILM’s ninth auction year-to-date and the second for the month of May. Year-to-date, cumulative issuances have reached USD 9.49 billion across 27 Ṣukūk series of varying tenors. The auction attracted strong demand from the IILM’s network of Primary Dealers and global investors, resulting in a healthy orderbook of USD 2.58 billion and a robust average bid-to-cover ratio of 202%, reflecting continued confidence in the IILM’s short-term Ṣukūk programme.

The issuance forms part of the IILM’s “A-1” (S&P) and “F1” (Fitch Ratings) rated USD 6 billion short-term Ṣukūk issuance programme.

The IILM’s short-term Sukῡk is distributed by a diversified and growing network of primary dealers globally, namely Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Turk, Affin Islamic Bank, Boubyan Bank, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad, Dukhan Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Golden Global Investment Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Kuwait International Bank, Maybank Islamic Berhad, Meethaq Islamic Banking from Bank Muscat, Qatar Islamic Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The IILM is a regular issuer of short-term Ṣukūk across varying tenors and amounts to cater to the liquidity needs of institutions offering Islamic financial services. The IILM will continue to reissue its short-term liquidity instruments monthly as scheduled in its issuance calendar.

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About IILM

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) is an international organisation established on 25 October 2010 by central banks, monetary authorities and multilateral organisations to develop and issue short-term Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments to facilitate effective cross-border liquidity management for institutions that offer Islamic financial services (IIFS).

The current members of the IILM Governing Board are the central banks and monetary agencies of Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, as well as the multilateral Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.

Membership of the IILM is open to central banks, monetary authorities, financial regulatory authorities or government ministries or agencies that have regulatory oversight of finance or trade and commerce, and multilateral organisations.

The IILM is hosted by Malaysia and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.

Media Enquiries:
The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM)
T: +60(3) 2170 5000
www.iilm.com