The Islamic Bank of Thailand (IBT) plans to rise between US$70 million to US$200 million via Sukuk Islamic bonds in Malaysia and Middle East countries by this year.
Malaysia’s second largest banking group CIMB, and its newly acquired BankThai, had approached the IBT to launch the Sukuk bond in Malaysia.
IBT chairman Professor Somchai Virunhapol said this would be the first time Thailand was issuing Sukuk bonds, adding that other targeted countries besides Malaysia were Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).