Pakistan’s K-electric sells country’s largest corporate sukuk

Pakistan’s K-electric sells country’s largest corporate sukuk

June 1 (Reuters) – Karachi-based utility K-Electric KELE.KA has sold 22 billion rupee ($215.9 million) worth of seven-year Islamic bonds, the largest listed corporate sukuk in the country, the firm said in a bourse filing.

Issuance of corporate sukuk is gathering pace, helping broaden Pakistan’s Islamic capital market, which in recent years has relied on the government for the bulk of such deals.

Proceeds would help refinance debt including around 18 billion rupees of long term loans from the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank, K-Electric said without giving pricing details.

In February, the firm received 15 billion rupee worth of subscriptions for the sukuk through a pre-IPO offering, opening it to the general public last month.

The deal was oversubscribed on May 29, the first day of subscription for institutional investors, and will be listed in the Karachi stock exchange later this month, the firm said.

Previously, Pakistan’s largest corporate sukuk was Liberty Power’s 12-year, 13.5 billion rupee transaction done in 2009.