London Stock Exchange welcomes ICD, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, to open trading on London's markets and mark the listing of its MTN program and inaugural $300 million five-year sukuk on London Stock Exchange (LSE). ICD will use the proceeds of the sukuk to support investments in private sector projects in line with its mission to promote economic growth in its member countries through private sector development. In 2016, ICD has to date raised $850 million in long- term funds or about 70% of its $1.2 billion funding program for the year. The MTN program, which is a wakala structure, will serve as ICD's main funding platform for regular issuance of sukuk. HSBC was the arranger for the MTN program and the syndicate group for the sukuk included 13 international and regional banks. Khaled Al Aboodi, Chief Executive Officer of ICD, said: "We are delighted to have listed our MTN program and sukuk on the London Stock Exchange. Given LSE and London's status as the largest international center for debt issuance and trading, this listing gives ICD access to a large and diverse pool of fixed income investors globally and supports the primary market execution and secondary market liquidity of its sukuk. Aside from marking a key milestone in our funding activity in the international capital market, the sukuk also supplements our role to promote Islamic finance in member countries. ICD was the lead advisor for Côte d'Ivoire's debut sukuk and we are keen to replicate its success in other member countries." ICD is a multilateral organization and a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.
