London, Asharq Al-Awsat – The global Sukuk (Islamic Bond) Market has hit an all-time high with market value now totaling US$24.5bn in the first half of 2007 – a remarkable growth of 75% over the previous year according to a report by the Islamic Finance Information Service (IFIS).

The report showed that the domestic Sukuk market experienced a growth rate of 71.4% while the international Sukuk market expanded by 83.3% over the previous year. Sovereign Sukuk issues also grew by 521% to US$4.4bn, while Malaysian Ringgit denominated Sukuk accounted for 70% of the market.

CIMB Islamic topped the Overall (International + Domestic) IFIS Bookrunners Sukuk League Table with total Sukuk issuance of US$3.15bn as well as the Domestic Sukuk Bookrunners table valued at US$ 2.87bn. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank led the IFIS International Sukuk Bookrunners League Table with Sukuk issuance aggregating US$952mn.