IRELAND: Ireland has emerged as the largest Sukuk listing venue globally, reflecting the appeal of its regulatory and tax environment to international Islamic finance markets.
According to Fitch Ratings, Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange) accounted for 38% of global Sukuk listed in hard currencies by Q3 2024, confirming it as the preferred destination for Sukuk listings, with the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai close behind.
Over three-quarters of the hard-currency Sukuk listed in Euronext Dublin are Fitch-rated, with around 70% holding investment-grade ratings. This includes Ireland’s first Fitch-rated Sukuk issuance – a five-year Islamic paper worth US$500 million by Dublin-based AerCap Holdings, issued in October 2024 by its subsidiary International Lease Finance Corporation. The Sukuk was rated ‘BBB’ with a positive outlook.
In addition to its leading position in international Sukuk listings, Ireland also hosts the largest public Islamic funds market among Western jurisdictions and ranks third-largest worldwide, according to the ratings agency.
With Islamic assets under management (AuM) totaling US$22.9 billion in Q2 2024, Ireland captured a 17.9% share of the global Islamic funds market as at H1 2024, following Malaysia (26%) and Saudi Arabia (18.5%).
Islamic funds in Ireland grew by 19.4% year-on-year in Q2 2024, outpacing conventional public AuM, which rose 18.9% over the same period. The country has demonstrated a capability to attract diverse Islamic participants, competing with other Western jurisdictions like Luxembourg, the UK and the US.
“The total number of public Islamic funds exceeded 33 funds in Q2 2024, dominated by equity funds (65%), with the majority in mutual funds,” said Fitch, noting that the classification is based on the funds’ domiciled country and Lipper data, which may not capture all private funds.
According to data on the IFN Investor platform, the HSBC UCITS Common Contractual Fund under the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, recorded an AuM of US$5.33 billion by the 30th September 2024, ranking first on the list of public Islamic funds domiciled in Ireland.
While Ireland maintains a favorable environment, especially with a detailed guideline outlining the tax treatment of Islamic finance transactions including Sukuk and Islamic funds, there are no additional dedicated regulatory frameworks. With no Islamic banks operating in the country, the domestic Islamic finance sector remains primarily supported by international Sukuk issuers.
