Oil-Squeezed Malaysia Seen Selling Sukuk as $1.2 Billion Matures
- Union Investment Malaysia taking chance to lock in rates
- Najib warns of possible $7 billion revenue shortfall in 2016
A store assistant stands at the entrance of a saree store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Photographer: Sanjit Das/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Malaysia will face pressure to sell global sukuk next year as $1.2 billion of Islamic debt matures in July and plunging oil prices erode fiscal revenue and currency reserves.
RHB Investment Bank Bhd. and Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH see demand for a new Islamic bond holding up because of a scarcity of dollar sukuk and longer-term prospects for Malaysia’s finances. The ringgit has rebounded 1.5 percent this quarter, paring its losses to 19 percent for 2015, a year in which reserves slid below $100 billion for the first time since 2010.