Kuwait Finance House has received regulatory clearance to move ahead with a fresh capital-raising exercise, setting the stage for an Additional Tier 1 sukuk valued at KWD 200 million, roughly $650 million. The approval from Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority allows the lender to strengthen its capital base at a time when Islamic banks across the region are actively tapping debt markets.
The planned issuance follows a busy start to the year for the bank. In January, it returned to investors with a $1 billion five-year senior unsecured sukuk, structured under its $4 billion trust certificate programme. That offering, denominated in U.S. dollars, carried a fixed coupon of 4.563% and drew solid interest from international buyers.
With strong credit ratings and a track record of successful market access, the upcoming AT1 sukuk is expected to add another layer to the bank’s capital stack, while reinforcing its funding flexibility as regional demand for Sharia-compliant instruments continues to deepen.
