This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 5, 2017 - June 11, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd bagged a whopping 21 awards at The Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2017, and was named Sukuk House of the Year in Asia-Pacific for the fifth year in a row.

The awards were conferred by The Asset, a leading financial publishing group in Asia-Pacific. The Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards, said CIMB in a statement, is one of the industry’s most prestigious in the fastest growing and most promising niches of global finance.

CIMB group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz (pic) said the wins reflect the continuous efforts the bank has invested over the years to strengthen its Islamic finance capabilities.

Other than Sukuk House of the Year in Asia-Pacific, CIMB was recognised as the Best Investment Bank in Asia-Pacific and Malaysia. It was also named the Asset Management House of the Year in Asia-Pacific via CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd (CIMB-Principal Islamic).

“These multiple wins will spur us on to keep delivering the best customer value proposition to our clients, and to forward our aspiration to become a leading Asean universal bank,” said Zafrul, adding the bank is humbled by the continuous support and confidence of its clients.

CIMB’s debt capital markets team also swept up a slew of awards for transactions brought to market for a host of sovereign, supranational and corporate clients in 2016: Islamic Deal of the Year, Best Sovereign Sukuk, Best Sovereign Sukuk — Highly Commended, Best Sukuk, Best Government-guaranteed Sukuk, Best Supranational Sukuk, Best Corporate Sukuk, Best Local Currency Sukuk, Best Securitization Sukuk — Highly Commended, Best Project Finance Deal, Best Debut Sukuk, Best Acquisition Financing, Best Deal — Malaysia and Best Deal — Saudi Arabia.

The wins were also a reflection of CIMB Investment Bank Bhd’s capabilities and expertise to add real value to sukuk transactions, said CIMB.

“The success of CIMB Investment’s regional operating model is also reflected in CIMB’s appointment as the only Asean franchise to arrange and lead-manage award-winning global transactions by the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, with the last two representing the sovereigns’ first foray into the global sukuk market in 2014.”

As for CIMB-Principal Islamic, it expects to deliver more innovative Islamic funds in the near future, said CIMB. As at April 30, 2017, CIMB-Principal Islamic managed more than US$650 million (RM2.74 billion) in global sukuk mandates and funds.