Sales of sukuk to be 'weaker' in 2010, says Deutsche Bank

Islamic debt will remain 'weaker' in 2010 as investors avoid riskier, higher-yielding assets on concern governments will struggle to repay debt, Bloomberg has reported, citing comments by Deutsch Bank. 'Until we see risk sentiment improve globally it's very difficult to see that the sukuk market will be as vibrant as it used to be,' Hussein Hassan, head of structuring for Middle East and Africa at Deutsche Bank AG, was quoted as saying at a conference in London. 'The industry failed to rise up to the occasion when looking for solutions. When Islamic finance was in the public eye, we were unable to provide solutions.' Sales of sukuk have totalled $564m so far this year, compared with $2.5bn for the first quarter last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.