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The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation ( IILM ), the world’s leading issuer of Shariah-compliant short-term liquidity management instruments, announced on December 5 the successful re-issuance of US$1.365 billion worth of short-term sukuk across four tenors, in its final auction for 2025.
The sukuk were priced competitively as follows:
The auction attracted strong demand from the IILM’s network of primary dealers and a broad base of institutional investors across multiple jurisdictions, registering total bids of US$3.31 billion and an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.43 times – demonstrating continued confidence in the IILM’s high-quality short-term liquidity tools.
This transaction marks the IILM’s 21st sukuk auction year-to-date, bringing total issuances in 2025 to US$22.9 billion across 69 series of varying tenors – the highest-ever annual cumulative issuance in IILM’s history. This latest issuance is conducted under the IILM’s US$8.5 billion short-term sukuk issuance programme, which carries ratings of A-1 from S&P Global Ratings and F1 from Fitch Ratings.
CEO Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid describes 2025 as nothing short of transformational for the IILM: “It stands as our most successful year-to-date across multiple dimensions – scale, market reach, operational depth, investor engagement and strategic relevance. This year, we recorded our highest-ever annual issuance volume at US$22.9 billion, a 76% increase year-on-year, conducted the most auctions in a single calendar year, and maintained consistently strong bid-to-cover ratios across all tenors. These results reflect both the depth of liquidity within the Islamic financial system and the strengthening role of the IILM as a reliable provider of short-term Shariah-compliant instruments.”
One of the clearest indicators of IILM’s rapid expansion is the significant growth in its average monthly issuance size. In 2024, it averaged US$1.1 billion per month. In 2025, that figure surged to US$1.9 billion, a significant increase that underscores both robust market demand and the IILM’s enhanced capacity to meet the evolving liquidity needs of the Islamic financial institutions.
Safri further highlighted that the IILM’s outstanding short-term sukuk portfolio also reached a record high of US$6.4 billion, representing an 82% increase from just 18 months ago. Safri adds: “Islamic financial institutions are increasingly relying on the IILM’s sukuk as their preferred high-quality liquid assets, which speaks volumes about the trust we have earned and the value we deliver to the global market.”
In addition to the surge in issuance activity, the IILM successfully upsized its sukuk programme to US$8.5 billion in 2025, a milestone that Safri notes enhances the organization’s ability to respond swiftly to market developments while reflecting continued confidence from the regulators, rating agencies and international stakeholders.
The introduction of the nine-month tenor this year also marked a notable product enhancement, providing a broader spectrum of high-quality instruments for Islamic financial institutions to manage liquidity with greater precision and confidence.
“Beyond issuance volumes, 2025 was a year in which our global distribution network expanded meaningfully,” Safri notes. “We welcomed four new primary dealers from diverse jurisdictions including the IILM’s first-ever primary dealer from the African continent, further broadening our geographic footprint. Alongside this, we deepened collaboration with our long-standing partners and continued to attract a wider pool of investors across the GCC ( Gulf Cooperation Council ) countries, Asia and the other markets.”
The IILM’s short-term sukῡk is distributed by a diversified and growing network of primary dealers globally, namely Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Turk, Affin Islamic Bank, AlRayan Bank, Boubyan Bank, CIMB Islamic Bank, Dukhan Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Golden Global Investment Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Kuwait International Bank, Maybank Islamic, Meethaq Islamic Banking from Bank Muscat, Qatar Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered.
