First international sukuk for a charitable purpose has won four awards since 2014 launch

Washington, 22 June, 2015 - The Financial Times (FT) has honoured IFFIm’s inaugural sukuk which raised over US$500 million last November to help Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance fund immunisation programmes in developing countries.

The three-year sukuk, a financial certificate that complies with Islamic law, received the Achievement in Transformational Finance Award for offering institutional investors a socially responsible investment that will help protect tens of millions of children against preventable diseases. The FT and IFC’s Transformational Business Awards highlight ground-breaking products and services that provide transformative, long-term solutions to key development issues.

“This award is particularly meaningful because it demonstrates excellent positioning and visibility of IFFIm as a respected and innovative issuer in international capital markets,” said IFFIm Chair René Karsenti. “We are confident that this award will lead to continued interest in IFFIm and Gavi as we explore future possibilities for IFFIm.”

IFFIm, an abbreviation for the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, raises funds in the international capital markets to accelerate the availability of funds for Gavi to help developing countries introduce potentially life-saving vaccines and strengthen health systems. IFFIm’s financial base consists of legally binding grant payments from nine sovereign donors amounting to approximately US$ 6.3 billion.

Since its launch on 27 November 2014, the first international sukuk for a charitable purpose has received three other prestigious awards: Islamic Finance News’ Social Impact Deal of the Year 2014, EMEA Finance’s Best Supranational Sukuk and Euromoney’s Innovation in Islamic Finance.  

“We are very pleased by the response to this sukuk in the growing Islamic Finance Market,” said Karsenti.  “IFFIm is dedicated to issuing socially responsible instruments for investors globally to make a real difference in saving children’s lives. The funds will help Gavi finance the delivery of life-saving vaccines and related health system strengthening around the world.”

The landmark sukuk was arranged by Standard Chartered Bank, acting as Global Coordinator, along with Barwa Bank, CIMB Investment Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and NCB Capital Company, in close collaboration with the World Bank as IFFIm’s treasury manager.

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