Sukuk woes could drive return to Islamic floaters

Wednesday’s confirmation by the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, of his intention to begin reducing quantitative easing this year if economic conditions allow have all but killed off any remaining prospects of international dollar sukuk issuance before Ramadan, say Gulf-based investors. But it could also lead to the return of shorter-dated floating rate sukuk at the expense of long-tenor fixed rate instruments, writes Dan Alderson.