International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation has extended its momentum in the short-term Islamic money market, with its outstanding sukuk portfolio reaching a record US$6.65 billion following strong issuance activity at the start of 2026.
The latest milestone comes after the issuance and reissuance of US$965 million in short-term sukuk across one-, three-, six-, and 12-month tenors in IILM’s second January auction. This lifted month-to-date issuance to US$2.2 billion, marking the second-highest monthly total in the corporation’s history.
The four series were priced at 3.90 per cent for the one-month tenor, 3.92 per cent for the three-month tenor, 3.95 per cent for the six-month tenor, and 3.90 per cent for the 12-month tenor. The auction attracted bids totalling US$2.17 billion, translating into an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.25 times, supported by demand from primary dealers and institutional investors across multiple jurisdictions.
Chief executive officer Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid said the outcome reflected sustained investor confidence amid ongoing market uncertainty.
He explained: “The strong and broad-based demand observed across all tenors reflects investors’ continued preference for high-quality, short-dated Islamic instruments amid ongoing macroeconomic cross-currents, policy uncertainty, and shifting rate expectations.
“This outcome reaffirms the IILM’s role in supporting effective Islamic liquidity management by providing the market with transparency, certainty, and regular, predictable issuances.”
The latest performance builds on a strong 2025, during which IILM issued a cumulative US$22.9 billion in sukuk through 21 auctions involving 69 series as at Dec 31. Mohamad Safri said the year marked a turning point for the institution.
“We successfully upsized our sukuk issuance programme to US$8.5 billion and recorded a 55 per cent increase in outstanding assets to US$6.4 billion, from US$4.14 billion at end-2024,” he said.
“These achievements reflect strong market demand and the continued commitment and market-making role of our primary dealers, which underpin the depth, resilience and reliability of our offerings and reinforce IILM’s position as the world’s largest issuer of short-term Islamic liquidity instruments.”
He added that IILM remains focused on expanding its dealer and investor base to support global stability in the Islamic finance market.
