World Bank-linked IFFI picks banks for debut sukuk issue

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation Co. (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, has picked four banks for a potential US dollar-denominated sukuk, a document from lead managers showed on Thursday. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFI has mandated Qatar's Barwa Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, and Standard Chartered to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. A potential sukuk offer may follow the roadshows - for which a schedule was not given in the document - subject to market conditions before the end of the year, according to Reuters.