Top Islamic lender Kuwait Finance House (KFH) said its sukuk arm, Liquidity Management House for Investment, has completed a mandate for the Turkish government advising the treasury on the country's debut sovereign sukuk issue.

KFH continues to build its leadership as a leading provider of Islamic advisory services with a focus on global sukuk structuring and placement, said a company statement.

The issue is expected to be a gateway to further sukuk issuances by Turkey with the sovereign issue paving the way for the fast growing sukuk market in the GCC and Malaysia, in addition to new territories and markets, it added.

Liquidity Management House, alongside Citigroup and HSBC, were key advisors for the debut sukuk issue, which had an order book almost five times of the issue size, raising $1.5 billion.

Strong appetite for the issue came from investors worldwide, with 58 per cent of the certificates being sold in the Middle East, 13 per cent in Europe, 12 per cent in Asia, 9 per cent in Turkey and 8 per cent in the US.

Liquidity Management House, wholly-owned by KFH, has been mandated with other debut sukuk issuances for sovereigns for later this year or early next year.

"We are thrilled to have KFH Group, represented through Liquidity Management House, mandated by an increasing number of sovereign issuers as they look to broaden their investor base and sources of financing," said Liquidity Management House MD and chief executive Emad Yousuf Al Monayea.

"Having been selected alongside and ahead of some of the world's largest financial institutions is a huge affirmation of the value proposition offered by KFH Group and Liquidity Management House and the vast expertise the firm and our teams have in Islamic finance," he remarked.

"With these mandates, we expect to continue to build our capabilities and roster of clients, including regional and global governments, as evidenced in the awards and accolades reaped during our nascent tenure," he added.-TradeArabia News Service