ISLAMABAD: A survey conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) shows that listed companies lack awareness regarding issuance of Sukuk — Islamic bonds — for raising capital.

The listed companies, included those in the KSE-100 index, need to enhance awareness among corporate decision makers of the benefits of raising capital through Sukuk.

Survey results show that only a minority of companies had considered issuing Sukuk in the last five years even though Sukuk can be more cost effective for issuers than conventional corporate bonds.

Up to 90 per cent of the survey respondents said they wanted to attend a seminar focused on the Chief Financial Officer (CFOs) of listed companies to understand how best their company can raise capital by issuing Sukuk.

The first of its kind survey was conducted online via email from May 16 to June 14 2017, on the issuance of Sukuk by the SECP with the collaboration of PSX to identify the issues facing listed companies in raising capital by issuing Sukuk.

To get the most meaningful results, the survey was only sent to the CFOs of these companies and the response rate was 50pc.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2017