'Greed and fear' hinder sukuk sales

Greed and fear linked to the subprime debt crisis are holding back Gulf Arab Islamic bond sales, even though issuers have little to do with the bad loans that triggered the crisis, a Gulf bond arranger said.

Gulf policymakers and bankers have said the region has had little exposure to subprime debt, but sales of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, have dried up as regional investors hold back and wait for better pricing, said Ahmed Abbas, chief executive of Bahrain's Liquidity Management Centre (LMC).

"Nine out of 10 issuers can't even spell subprime," Abbas told the Reuters Islamic Finance Summit.....Continue