HSBC to introduce new sukuk

HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd will introduce an innovative sukuk this year for retail investors to maintain
HSBC's position as a leading sukuk house.

"Malaysia is one of the deepest markets for Islamic bonds but we still do not have an active retail market, chief executive officer Rafe Haneef told Bernama.

"We need to launch a retail bond product so that the retail investors could share the sukuk pie,"  he added.

Rafe said Malaysia made up 60 per cent of the total global sukuk issuance last year but the Syariah bonds were subscribed mostly by institutional investors.

Rafe, who has been at the helm of HSBC Amanah since November 2010, said HSBC Amanah would focus on launching several innovative Syariah-compliant investment-linked products as well

as structured funds like Real Estate Investment Trust products.

"Moving forward, we are looking at more investment products. The range of asset products at HSBC Amanah is pretty much complete," he said.

Rafe said the bank has been receiving tremendous response for its products as they carry a recognised brand with competitive pricing and are structured according to syariah requirements.

"We have an independent syariah committee to review the products. At HSBC Group, we have strategically mono-lined certain products as Syariah-compliant solutions only.