Malaysia's Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd, a wholly owned unit of Hong Leong Bank, has set up an Islamic bond programme to raise as much as 1 billion ringgit ($310 million).
The subordinated sukuk programme is Basel-III compliant and will be treated as Tier 2 regulatory capital, rating agency RAM Ratings said in a statement on Wednesday.
Maybank Islamic, RHB Islamic and AmIslamic have also made moves into Basel-III compliant sukuk issues this year.
Bahrain's central bank has released a consultation paper to study possible changes to rules for sharia-compliant financing arrangements which the kingdom's Islamic banks can offer to accredited investors.
Gulf issuers of overseas bonds, kept on the sidelines by volatile markets, may revive their issue plans after Dubai Islamic Bank , the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates, completed a $1 billion sukuk issue.
SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd , a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said on Thursday it has signed a $2.3 billion Islamic loan with 11 lenders.