Bloomberg executives today announced the launch of the Bloomberg Malaysian Foreign Currency Sukuk Index (BMSSUTR), a non-ringgit denominated index developed in conjunction with Bank Negara Malaysia. The new Bloomberg index provides a global benchmark for the performance of sukuk bonds and the ability to track movements of foreign currency issues.
“The Islamic financial marketplace is growing rapidly and there is high demand for more transparency, pricing, risk and return information,” said Gerard Francis, a Bloomberg Professional service executive. “We believe that this latest index will become the instrument of choice to help investors and fund managers maximize their investments in Shariah finance. It is also another sign of our 20 years of experience and commitment to the region.”
“The launch of the benchmark index for the Malaysian foreign currency sukuk market is timely given the growth of foreign currency sukuk issuances in the country, and this marks another key milestone that will contribute towards internationalization of Islamic finance,” commented Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.
The BMSSUTR index consists of foreign currency sukuk issues listed on Bursa Malaysia or on the Labuan International Financial Exchange. The index gives fund managers the ability to conduct performance attribution, helping to manage their foreign currency exposure. It includes investment-grade Malaysian foreign currency sukuk priced in U.S. dollars.
Bloomberg recently created another index with the Association of Islamic Banks in Malaysia (AIBIM), the Bloomberg-AIBIM-Bursa Malaysia Sovereign Shariah Index (BMSSI), which provides a benchmark of performance for investors seeking exposure to Shariah-compliant Malaysian Ringgit-denominated Government securities.
The indicies are available on Bloomberg’s Islamic Finance platform (ISLM <GO>), which provides the broadest set of Islamic finance data, analytics and proprietary news.
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