Britain Issues Sukuk

The British government will become the first non-Muslim country to issue sukuk, a form of debt that complies with Islamic law, which prohibits the payment of interest. Instead, sukuk pays a share of the returns from an underlying asset such as property. The size of the issue, which is expected in 2014, will be about £200 million ($322 million). There are currently 49 sukuk listings on the London Stock exchange, valued at $34 billion. Overall, investments compliant with Islamic law are expected to grow to about £1.3 trillion ($2.08 trillion) in 2014. By way of contrast, the U.S Treasury bond market is about $11.3 trillion and U.S. corporate debt is about $9.2 trillion.