“Sukuk”, often referred to as Islamic bonds, are financial instruments that comply with Islamic law, also known as Shariah.
The remarks came as the second edition of the Joint Climate Finance Conference kicked off in the United Arab Emirates’ city, co-hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
Speaking at the event, Darryl Chan, the HKMA’s deputy chief executive, noted that growth in sustainable finance has been “exceptionally strong” in Hong Kong, with total green and sustainable debt issuances surging more than 60 percent year on year in 2024.
Looking ahead, he said the SAR and Dubai could collaborate and issue more green-related “Sukuk” bonds to continue the momentum, as the SAR had already passed legislation to support such issuances.
“We already had a couple of government issuances of Sukuk [here]. I do see that going forward, this is an area that we should continue to explore, especially given the very diverse investor base in Hong Kong, primarily [from] Asia Pacific,” he told participants.
“But I think now we’re seeing more global investors also tapping into the Hong Kong market, so if there’s anything that we could work together, either being bringing investors to Dubai, or bringing some of the products from Dubai to Hong Kong, I think that would be a great story to create that connectivity,” he said.
Echoing Chan, Mark Steward, DFSA’s chief executive, noted that 20 percent of the 194 outstanding “Sukuk” issuances, listed on Nasdaq Dubai and totalling over US$100 billion, were for green investments.
He added that the “unique” features of “Sukuk” products, including its alignments on Shariah’s ethical foundation, also matches the social goals of green financial products, while providing “good returns” to investors.
He also said Hong Kong and Dubai could work together to make use of more technologies, including tokenisation of such bonds, to offer such products to more investors.
