Bangladesh regulator approves Beximco's plan to sell Tk 30bn sukuk

The market regulator has approved Beximco Limited's sukuk, a Shariah-compliant debt instrument, worth Tk 30 billion.

Registering the biggest offer by any private company in Bangladesh, the approval came in a meeting of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

The sukuk bond will be Secured, Convertible or Redeemable Asset-Backed Green-sukuk with a five-year term.

Investors can turn their bond into share, or take profit annually and draw the face value in the end, said BSEC spokesperson Rezaul Karim.

As much as Tk 7.5 billion of the sukuk will be available to current shareholders, another Tk 7.5 billion through initial public offering and the rest to other investors.

Each sukuk will be valued at Tk 100 on the capital market which will generate minimum nine percent interest annually.

Beximco took the decision to release the bond in March as part of a push to mobilise funds for the solar power projects of Teesta Solar and Korotoa Solar, the subsidiaries of Beximco Power Company Ltd.

The proceeds from the sukuk, maturing in five years, will also be used to finance the machinery and equipment required for the expansion of Beximco's textile division.

A sukuk is a bond that conforms to Islamic strictures on the prohibition of charging or paying interest.

The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh is the trustee of the bond, and City Bank Capital Resources and Agrani Equity and Investment are the issue managers.