UAE's MAF eyes five-year sukuk, profit rate at 6pct

Dubai's Majid Al Futtaim plans to issue a five-year dollar-denominated Islamic bond, or sukuk, with early profit rate indications at no more than six per cent, a source with knowledge of the deal said on Sunday.

MAF is holding investor meetings in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, followed by London and Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The mall developer, which is the sole franchise for Carrefour in the Gulf, has picked Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered to arrange its debut sukuk.

The company has been eyeing global debt markets for several months, completing a series of roadshows for a conventional bond in June but not going ahead with a print because of the impact of market volatility on pricing.

It set up a sukuk programme to have the option to tap Islamic liquidity and take advantage of healthy demand for sharia-compliant assets amid ongoing global risk aversion.