August 03, 2007	Friday	Rajab 18, 1428

KARACHI, Aug 2: The Water and Power Development Authority is considering issuance of an international Islamic bond or Sukuk, worth up to $1 billion, a senior official said on Thursday.

“We have asked all leading local and international banks to submit their proposals for the planned issue by Aug 31,” said Hamad Rasool Bhullar, director finance at Wapda bonds cell.

“We are looking at a size of $500 million to $1 billion, and we plan to do it as early as possible... hopefully in the next six months or so,” Bhullar told Reuters by telephone from Lahore, where the utility is headquartered.

Wapda last week signed an agreement with Dubai Islamic Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. for the issuance of a 10-year, 8-billion-rupee domestic Sukuk.

Bhullar did not give names of the banks that have been asked to submit their proposals, but bankers said they include ABN Amro Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch.

The tenor of the planned Sukuk is also yet to be decided.

In 2005, the government of Pakistan floated a $600m Islamic bond for a five-year term, no other Pakistani entity has issued a dollar-denominated Islamic bond on international markets. —Reuters