Qatar-based Barwa Bank, a Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been appointed by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) as Joint Lead Manager (JLM) and bookrunner for a benchmark medium term sukuk issue.

Rated AA by Standard and Poor's, Aa1 by Moody’s and AA+ by Fitch, IFFIm, for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, has mandated Barwa Bank, amongst four other banks, to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, with a sukuk expected to follow the roadshow.

The proceeds of the sukuk will be used to provide free vaccines and related health system strengthening support to many of the world’s poorest nations. The use of proceeds of this sukuk will therefore be well aligned with the core values of Islamic Finance. The World Bank acts as Treasury Manager for IFFIm, whilst immunisation programmes are funded by the company through GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Khalid Al-Subeai, Barwa Bank’s acting chief executive officer, said: “We were delighted to be appointed by the IFFIm alongside major international and regional banks and associated with a transaction that marries true Islamic Finance values with the basic needs of the world’s population.”

“Our appointment reflects our expertise in the rapidly expanding international Islamic capital markets and securing a mandate like this is the clearest testament to our credibility, track record, and delivery,” he added.- TradeArabia News Service