Kuveyt Türk, a bank that originated in the Arab Gulf that plans to share its sukuk market experience across Turkey in 2015, will sell sukuk to qualified investors as well as to people through public offerings as part of the TL 1 billion ($373.65 million) issuance ceiling program taken from the Capital Markets Board in 2015. Therefore, the bank plans to issue TL 200 million of sukuk, which is due for 189 days after collecting demands on June 24, June 25 and June 26. Additionally, it aims to issue TL 800 million of sukuk in total by the end of 2015 to increase its resource diversity.
Kuveyt Türk General Manager Ufuk Uyan said the lease certificate market has so far been unable to reach the demanded volume. "However, we believe it will both spread among the common people and increase its volume with the method of public offerings," Uyan stressed. He added that they expected the demand on lease certificates to increase with the change that will occur in the fund and portfolio management structures after the second half of 2015.
Uyan emphasized that they expected the need for the issuance of lease certificates in the market to rise after the funds managed by Individual Pension System companies, such as Katılım Emeklilik, which operate according to the principle of non-interest banking, have grown. Investors' interest in the bank's issuances valued at TL 1 billion from 2014 to 2015 and public offerings valued at TL 150 million in 2013 showed possible growth in the upcoming issuances, and this is why the bank has increased its aims."As Kuveyt Türk, our lease certificates totaling TL 3.5 billion in various currencies such as the dollar, Malaysian ringgit and Turkish lira are in circulation in the market. We aim to introduce the advantages of the lease certificate to our customers besides qualified investors with our issuances, which are going to last throughout the year," Uyan said.
Sukuk is a type of financial instrument that commonly refers to the Islamic equivalent of bonds. Kuveyt Türk issued the first sukuk in Turkey in 2010.
