Linklaters advises on a trio of sukuk issuances, including acting for the Government of Malaysia on the world’s first sovereign US dollar sustainability sukuk issuance

Linklaters advised the Government of Malaysia on the issuance of its US$800m 10-year trust certificates. The issuance is the world’s first sovereign sustainability sukuk, with the proceeds to be used for eligible social and environmental projects. The Government also issued US$500m 30-year trust certificates concurrently with the 10-year issuance.

The joint offering was the highest oversubscription rate ever achieved by the Government of Malaysia – a strong recognition of Malaysia’s capabilities in structuring innovative sukuks in the Islamic finance industry.

The firm also advised Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah), the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, on its recent US$1bn dual tranche sukuk issuance via a special purpose vehicle, Dua Capital.

The transaction represents Khazanah’s success in returning to the US dollar sukuk market since 2016 and saw strong demand from investors across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, resulting in the total order book reaching approximately US$6bn.

Linklaters also advised on the establishment of Maldives Sukuk Issuance Limited's US$1bn trust certificate issuance programme, and the subsequent US$200m 5-year sukuk issuance, which was the Maldives’ debut sovereign sukuk in the Islamic finance market. The proceeds of the issuance will be used towards the tender offer of existing notes due 2022 issued by the Maldives government. Linklaters also advised on a subsequent tap of US$100m to the original issuance which closed at the end of April.

These transactions were led by capital markets partners Amit Singh and Jonathan Horan based in the firm’s Singapore office and Jonathan Fried based in Dubai, as well as Phill Hall, counsel based in Singapore.

Head of South and South East Asia Capital Markets, Amit Singh, commented:

“Linklaters’ well-established Islamic finance practice is known for delivering innovative solutions to clients and has worked on many “firsts” in the Islamic finance industry. We are proud to have had the opportunity to support the Government of Malaysia, Khazanah and the Government of Maldives on these significant and successful deals.”

The Linklaters team was comprised of lawyers from jurisdictions across Asia and the Middle East, reflecting the geographic spread of the parties and the diversity of market practices in these regions in the sukuk space.