Transitioning from a niche segment into a mainstream funding avenue, the sukuk market recorded another milestone in 2025 as the outstanding volume exceeded US$1 trillion, maintaining its growth trajectory despite a challenging global economic backdrop.

This comes as the total issuance amounted to US$291 billion during the year, representing an increase of 14.5% from 2024.

A major factor in the robust increase, according to LSEG, has been the broadening of the issuer base across both core and non-core Islamic finance markets. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has reshaped the market landscape since launching its domestic sukuk programme in 2017. This underpinned the local currency issuance and encouraged greater corporate participation in the sukuk market.

The sukuk landscape also expanded into a wider set of emerging and frontier markets, notes LSEG, with transactions from the Philippines, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Benin. At the same time, the sukuk market saw an increasing investor participation across the United States, Europe and Asia – drawn by relatively high yields, structural transparency and comparatively stable risk-return profile.

Amid the strong deal flow, several issuers distinguished themselves during the year, arranging transactions that stood out in the sukuk market. Saudi Arabia’s multinational food and beverage conglomerate Almarai Company printed in September 2025 a US$500 million ijara/murabaha sukuk, offering investors a diversification away from state-owned entities and bank-related sukuk that dominate issuances in this market. The deal was launched against a constructive market backdrop and attracted an order book of over US$2.1 billion. It was priced at a spread of 85bp over the US treasuries, or a 35bp compression from the initial price guidance – representing the tightest spread ever achieved by Almarai. The transaction not only optimizes the company’s capital structure but also strengthens its financial flexibility to support future investments and expansion, reinforcing Almarai’s commitment to sustainable growth and shareholder value.

The company also tapped the loan market, raising in March and June a total of SAR 3 billion (US$797.90 million) in bilateral loans extended by Saudi National Bank, Alinma Bank and Banque Saudi Fransi. The proceeds were earmarked for strategic expansion through key mergers and acquisitions, and to fund organic growth in its poultry business, positioning Almarai for future growth and operational excellence.

Another Saudi Arabian issuer Al Rahji Bank, described as the world’s largest Islamic bank in terms of assets, accessed the US dollar sukuk market twice in 2025 to raise bank capital in sustainable format. In January, it issued additional tier 1 (AT1) sustainability capital certificates amounting to US$1.5 billion – the largest-ever AT1 printed by a MENA bank and priced at the tightest reset spread ever by a Saudi Arabian bank at 195.4bp over the US treasuries. The sukuk was compliant with the AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Finance Institutions) standards, which enabled the participation of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) investors, particularly Islamic banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and their private banking arms.

Al Rahji returned to the market in September and printed US$1 billion in tier 2 social certificates. It was the first-ever social tier 2 capital issuance from a GCC country.  Also, the profit rate of 5.651% was the lowest for a tier 2 instrument in the Saudi Arabian market and one of the lowest globally. The transaction was upsized from the initial target of US$750 million, following a surge in demand that peaked at US$2.2 billion from a well-diversified investor base.

First-ever SLF sukuk

Emirates Islamic Bank of the UAE printed in September the first-ever sustainability-linked financing (SLF) sukuk globally, amounting to US$500 million. It was its second ESG-labelled issuance since 2024 – showcasing its innovative approach and commitment to the country’s 2050 net-zero ambition. The transaction also marked the bank’s return to the public capital markets for the second time in 2025, following its previous US$750 million sukuk in March. The final pricing of 95bp over the US treasuries was 30bp inside of the initial price thought of 125bp area and represented a negative new issue concession in the context of between 5bp and 10bp, allowing the bank to price inside its curve. The deal garnered an order book that peaked in excess of US$1.2 billion, with the participation of over 70 institutional investors.

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), a multilateral institution established by a number of central banks to issue Shariah-compliant financial instruments and enable effective cross-border Islamic liquidity management, posted record-breaking achievements in 2025. It issued a cumulative US$22.9 billion in 21 auctions during the year across 69 series of various tenors – the highest-ever annual cumulative issuance in IILM’s history. It expanded its sukuk issuance programme to US$8.5 billion from US$6 billion, and it reached a historic high of US$6.4 billion in outstanding sukuk in 2025.

IILM, which is also voted as the Global Liquidity Solution Provider, expanded its primary dealership network to 16 in 2025, adding banks from Turkiye, Kuwait, Qatar and Nigeria – the latter representing the first primary dealer from the African continent with the participation of Jaiz Bank. The expansion of the primary dealership further strengthens IILM’s global distribution capabilities and market reach, and Jaiz Bank’s entry also underscores the growing demand for high-quality Shariah-compliant liquidity instruments in Africa’s fast-expanding Islamic finance landscape. Another IILM’s achievement in 2025 was the introduction of a nine-month tenor to its sukuk maturity profile to expand liquidity and asset-liability management options for market participants.

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional accessed both the equity and debt capital markets in 2025 to meet its funding requirements and for its portfolio management strategy to monetize holdings and recycle capital. In September, Danum Capital, which acts as the dedicated funding conduit for Khazanah’s investments and strategic development initiatives, raised 1.5 billion ringgit (US$368.55 million) by issuing Islamic medium-term notes in three tranches, the proceeds of which were earmarked for Shariah-compliant general investments and to refinance its existing borrowings. Despite the tight pricing, the issuance achieved a final order book of 3.11 billion ringgit, supported by 20 accounts across a good mix of investor base.

In December, Khazanah raised 1.7 billion ringgit in a Tenaga Nasional block trade – the largest block trade in Asean since March 2024. The transaction capitalized on the removal of a long-standing tax overhang following the approval of Tenaga’s re-investment allowance application. The deal was executed at an opportune market window and was able to draw strong and broad-based investor demand, enabling the achievement of competitive pricing and an effective allocation strategy.

SDG sukuk

Malaysia Rail Link (MRL), the government-owned company responsible for owning, developing and managing the East Coast Rail Link, a 655-kilometre electrified railway linking the eastern coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang to the Klang Valley region, was a frequent issuer in the ringgit debt capital markets in 2025, raising sustainable type of financing earmarked for the project. In July, it priced a 2 billion ringgit floating rate Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) sukuk, representing the first floating-rate Islamic medium-term notes guaranteed by the Government of Malaysia. The sukuk, raised via private placement, pays profit at a variable rate, which is periodically reset every six months. The reference benchmark used is the six-month Klibor (Kuala Lumpur interbank offered rate) with an agreed spread of minus 6bp. MRL has actively tapped the sustainable finance market in 2025 with eight SDG sukuk totalling 5.51 billion ringgit.

One of the largest state-owned fund management companies in Malaysia, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), executed a major sukuk deal in 2025 through its subsidiary, PNB Merdeka Ventures – a 6 billion ringgit sustainability Merdeka sukuk in five tranches. It was the largest corporate sustainability sukuk in Southeast Asia and the largest sustainability sukuk issuance from the commercial real estate sector in the region. It was also the largest ringgit-denominated corporate sukuk offering and the largest single ringgit corporate AAA-rated sustainability sukuk ever issued in Malaysia.

Executed via an accelerated bookbuilding exercise, the issuance comprised four tranches of five, seven, 10 and 15 years with a base issue size of 5.5 billion ringgit, while a 20-year tranche amounting to 500 million ringgit was issued through private placement. PNB Merdeka Ventures serves as the master developer and custodian of Merdeka 118 precinct in Kuala Lumpur, which includes the iconic 630-metre Merdeka PNB 118 tower – the second tallest building in the world.

Sunway Group is another frequent issuer in the ringgit sukuk market in 2025 through its different subsidiaries. In March, Sunway Healthcare Treasury raised 500 million ringgit in sustainable sukuk for its capex expansion. The transaction was swiftly executed within a tight issuance window through private placement, achieving the firm’s pricing target, maximizing the intended issue size and extending the company’s debt maturity profile. The private placement approach was adopted amid heavy competing pipelines, in which a typical book-run offering may potentially have a higher execution risk in achieving the issuer’s price and size targets. The seven-year deal was eventually priced at 4%, or 25bp over the Malaysian government securities (MGS).

Sunway South Quay tapped the sukuk market twice, in March and April, for a total of 288.8 million ringgit in sustainability sukuk, while Sunway Treasury, the broader, group-level corporate funding vehicle, also accessed the sukuk market twice – first in March for 250 million ringgit and then in July for another 200 million ringgit.

ESG Bank of the Year

HSBC Amanah Malaysia is again voted as ESG Bank of the Year. ESG is a key component of HSBC’s strategy with a dedicated onshore specialist team to provide customizable solutions for its clients. Throughout the award period, the bank arranged a total of 1.313 billion ringgit of nominal value in ESG sukuk issuance (across green, social and sustainability), and facilitated 1.743 billion ringgit of Islamic and conventional ESG financing deals. HSBC is contributing to the development of the Climate Finance Innovation Lab (CFIL) as a member of CFIL working group, aiming to support Malaysia’s climate ambitions by identifying, developing and accelerating projects that align with the country’s net-zero goals.

The awards for Bank of the Year, Global, and Bank of the Year, Middle East, are given to Standard Chartered Saadiq, the global Islamic banking division of Standard Chartered. It offers a wide range of Shariah-compliant products to corporate, commercial and institutional, consumer, business banking and private banking clients in over 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It has five dedicated Shariah boards – one global and four dedicated Shariah boards in Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan and the UAE – comprising the most eminent and recognized scholars in the field. It brings issuers and borrowers into the sukuk market, structuring 81 transactions in 2025 with a combined value of approximately US$61 billion.

Maybank Islamic is a repeat award winner for Bank of the Year, Asia-Pacific (APAC). It achieved another strong year in 2025, with profit before taxation and zakat up 6.15% from the previous year to 4.04 billion ringgit. Total gross income rose 6.07% to 16.28 billion ringgit, from 15.35 billion ringgit in the same period a year ago. This represented income derived from investment of depositors’ funds (13.78 billion ringgit), investment account funds (1.46 billion ringgit), investment of shareholder’s funds (824.2 million ringgit), and profit share income from investment accounts (208.8 million ringgit).

The bank’s total customer funding increased 5.74% to 279.5 billion ringgit in 2025, compared to 264.3 billion ringgit a year ago, driven by growth in investment accounts and customer deposits. Maybank Islamic maintained a robust capital position with the common equity tier 1 at 14.397%, tier 1 capital ratio at 15.224% and total capital ratio at 18.231% – all well above the regulatory requirements.

Bank of the Year winners by country

By country, the Bank of the Year winners are National Australia Bank (Australia), City Islamic (Bangladesh), Maybank Islamic (Malaysia and Singapore) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (UAE).

For Best Investment Bank, CIMB wins the award for APAC for the breadth of its franchise and its ability to arrange deals in both Malaysia and Indonesia across debt and equity. The bank was a joint lead underwriter in the initial public offering (IPO) of PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gum, which raised in March over 2.04 trillion rupiah (US$112.90 million) – the second largest IPO in Indonesia by deal size and market capitalization at the time of pricing. Through CIMB Niaga Sekuritas, the bank arranged sukuk transactions for PT Pegadain (1.75 trillion rupiah) and PT Sarana Multigriya Finansial (250 billion rupiah social sukuk).

Standard Chartered Saadiq is voted as Best Investment Bank for the Middle East on the back of its leadership in the sukuk market, while Lesha Bank wins the honours in Qatar. Lesha Bank provides a comprehensive suite of advisory services tailored to government-related entities, financial institutions, large to mid-sized corporates, diversified groups and family offices. Its advisory services include mergers and acquisitions, debt advisory/debt capital markets, equity capital markets and restructuring. Its sukuk advisory deals completed in 2025 included those for Qatar International Islamic Bank (QAR 500 million), Al Rayan Bank (QAR 500 million) and Estithmar Holding (QAR 150 million).

In the Best Sukuk Adviser category, Standard Chartered Saadiq is selected as the Global and Middle East winner. The bank was involved in several significant deals in 2025, acting as a sustainability structuring bank and a lead manager (along with Emirates NBD Capital) in the Emirates Islamic Bank’s US$500 million sustainability-linked sukuk – the first issuance of SLF in sukuk format by an Islamic bank globally. It was also involved in the second such SLF for Dubai Islamic Bank amounting to US$1 billion, acting as the sole sustainability structuring bank, bookrunner and lead manager.

By country, Standard Chartered Saadiq is also voted as Sukuk Adviser of the Year in Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and UAE, while Citi took the accolade in Kuwait and Oman. In Kuwait, Citi helped arrange the tier 2 sustainable capital securities for Kuwait International Bank amounting to US$300 million and the US$500 million senior sukuk for Boubyan Bank.  In Oman, Citi was involved in the US$750 million green sukuk for Oman Electricity Transmission Company and in the US$1 billion trust certificates with a tender offer for the Sultanate of Oman.

CIMB is cited as the Best Sukuk Adviser in APAC for leading transactions both in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Malaysia, it led, among others, the 2.1 billion ringgit sustainability-linked sukuk for SD Guthrie, the 1.5 billion ringgit Islamic medium-term notes for Danum Capital, the 2.35 billion ringgit sukuk for Pantai Holdings, the 800 million ringgit perpetual sukuk for Eco World, the 485 million ringgit senior sukuk and 195 million ringgit perpetual sukuk for Qualitas, the 500 million ringgit subordinated debut sukuk for Syarikat Takaful Malaysia, and the 114 million ringgit sukuk for Visionary Heritage, which was the first property asset-backed securities (ABS) sukuk in Malaysian debt capital markets.

By country, the Best Sukuk Adviser citation in Indonesia goes to IndoPremier Sekuritas for arranging deals for PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (2.77 trillion rupiah orange sukuk), PT Merdeka Battery Materials (3.38 trillion rupiah), PT Pagadain (1.75 trillion rupiah) and PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (2.5 trillion rupiah).

Maybank Investment Bank is the winner for Best Sukuk Adviser in Malaysia, whose franchise is strengthened by its structuring team, particularly when it comes to sustainable type of financing. The bank is the sustainability structuring adviser, lead arranger and lead manager in the 2 billion ringgit SDG sukuk for Malaysia Rail Link. It is the sole sustainability structuring adviser, principal adviser, lead arranger and lead manager in the 250 million ringgit Asean sustainability SRI sukuk for Malakoff Power. It led the 300 million ringgit sustainability sukuk for Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang acting as sole sustainability structuring adviser, Shariah adviser, principal adviser, lead arranger and lead manager.

Other sukuk transactions led by Maybank Investment Bank included those for Sunway Healthcare Treasury (500 million ringgit), Bank Simpanan Nasional (890 million ringgit) and ALSRET Capital (455 million ringgit). Together with CIMB, it led the 6 billion ringgit sustainability Merdeka sukuk for PNB Merdeka Ventures.

Meezan Bank wins the award in Pakistan for leading the first-ever sovereign green sukuk amounting to 32 billion rupees (US$115 million). This was the first time that a green sukuk – either sovereign or corporate – was issued through the Pakistan Stock Exchange via an auction as all previous issuances had been through private placements. The proceeds were directly utilized for the construction of three sustainable projects to support renewable energy goals, limit emissions and provide sustainable power.

Leadership awards

The Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2026 is bestowing leadership distinctions to two industry stalwarts for leading their organizations to achieve greater heights during our review period.

Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid, CEO of IILM, is chosen as the Islamic Banker of the Year. Under his leadership, the IILM has continued to see record issuances, expanded its sukuk programme globally, onboarded four new primary dealers in 2025 and introduced the nine-month tenor to the sukuk maturity profile. Safri was appointed for a three-year term effective January 1, 2024. He joined IILM after spending 13 years at CIMB Bank, where he served in various capacities, including as deputy CEO for CIMB Islamic and as senior managing director at the bank’s public sector group.

Safri continues to guide IILM’s growth momentum in 2026. On June 11, IILM announced its 12th sukuk auction for the year, bringing the cumulative issuance volume for 2026 to US$14.595 billion across 58 sukuk series of varying maturities. The achievement reflects the growing utilization of IILM instruments by Islamic financial institutions, central banks, sovereign wealth funds and other market participants seeking effective and efficient short-term liquidity management solutions.

Nor Hanifah Hashim, CEO and country head at Franklin Templeton GSC Asset Management, is voted as the Asset Manager of the Year. She was appointed head of Malaysia business for Franklin Templeton in May 2022. In addition to this role, she continues to be the lead manager supervising the firm’s sukuk fund and mandates, including developing investment policies for the Malaysian market. She works closely with the Franklin Templeton fixed income team in the Middle East on global sukuk mandates and supports Franklin Templeton's global fixed income capabilities.

In 2025, Franklin Templeton Malaysia recorded strong new business momentum, securing a new mandate from a prominent institutional client with an initial allocation of S$37 million (US$28.68 million). Its institutional Shariah assets under management (AUM) reached US$2.69 billion in 2025, representing an 8% year-on-year increase and accounting for 52% of Franklin Templeton’s global Shariah AUM.

For the complete list of winners, please click here.

For more information about the awards gala scheduled for 27 August 2026 at the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur, please contact us at celebrate@theasset.com