Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has received “Best sovereign Sukuk Arranger” and “Best Islamic Financial Institution in the Middle East” awards during London Sukuk Summit Awards Ceremony 2015, of which the main objective is to recognize the outstanding contribution and achievements of individuals, institutions, and financial centers serving the global Islamic financial services industry.

“The awards are recognition for KFH’s contributes to boost Islamic financial services industry. They confirm KFH’s success in expanding its businesses locally and at the level of the Middle East. KFH managed to maintain its leading position in Kuwait despite the fierce competition and the presence of new Islamic banks. The bank succeeded in developing several financial products most notably sukuk which consolidated the Islamic banking status in the international markets and contributed in opening new horizons for this industry” said Emad Almonayea, CEO, KFH-Investment.

He added in a press release on the heels of receiving that the awards that the recognition is a true testament to the outstanding performance of the bank and to the pivotal role it assumes in the industry of Islamic banking products and services while coping with the major developments in the global markets. It is testimony to the bank's commitment to high standards of quality, yet best practices in applying regulatory foundations on several sharia-compliant products. This adds value to the Islamic banking, and reflects the bank’s robust financial position, huge volume of businesses in addition to its professional and legislative commitment.

Commenting on arranging and leading debut USD 500 mln sovereign sukuk issuance for the Republic of South Africa through KFH-Investment, a subsidiary of KFH-Group, Almonayea said that this issuance confirms leadership and robustness of the bank, not to mention capability to open new markets and attract clients to sukuk market, be it governments or companies. He explained that the Republic of South Africa is seen as one of the most significant countries that are transforming issuing conventional bonds into sukuk.

Moreover, Almonayea indicated that in addition to leading and promoting sukuk issuance, KFH contributed to offering technical support and extensive experience that enabled the government of South Africa to amend some laws and regulations to be allowed to issue sukuk and take all approvals.

He went on to say that the sukuk issuance for South Africa is a debut sovereign sukuk at the level of the continent, and the third of its kind for non-Muslim countries following the sukuk issued by the United Kingdom and lately Hong Kong.

 It's worth noting that the sukuk issuance was granted credit investment rating by the global rating agencies Moody's, Fitch and Standard Poor's. Sukuk will be enlisted in the market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange so that investors can trade them.