By John Irish
DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai-based mortgage lender Tamweel TAML.DU said on Monday it could sell Islamic bonds worth up to $500 million as early as March, but will hold off on securitization plans until at least the year end due to market conditions.
Tamweel, which sold a $300 million convertible Islamic bond, or sukuk in January, is planning to do a multi-currency issue as part of a medium-term note program to diversify its funding streams.
"It might be in Singapore, Europe ... it could be regional, even in dirhams," Feras Kalthoum, head of investments, told the Reuters Islamic Finance Summit in Dubai.
Tamweel, which operates according to Islamic law, has still to decide what currency and when to sell the bonds, which would help finance expansion in its loan bank.
"It could happen in Q1 ... and will be up to $500 million," Kalthoum said.
Tamweel sold $210 million of asset-backed securities in July, one of the first companies in the region to do so, and expects to return to the market by at the latest mid-2009.
"It would be a concern if we were not able to tap the securitization market before the first half of 2008," he said.
The bonds, like traditional sukuk, are asset-backed. But unlike sukuk, they allow buyers direct access to the underlying asset. These are kept separate from the borrower. Continued...
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