The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering launching a medium-term note (MTN) programme worth several billions dollar for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, to finance infrastructure in Asia, an official said.
"If we use such an instrument we're able to tap a wider wealth pool," Jaseem Ahmed, a director of ADB's Southeast Asia Department. "It would be really nice if we could do a large programme, several billion dollars over a number of years," he said.   
Payments to sukuk holders are made from cash-flows generated by underlying assets such as real estate or infrastructure.
The sukuk market in the Gulf region has been dominated by real estate projects and there is a dearth of highly- rated issues such as those by sovereigns or multinational organisations.   
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), with which the ADB is cooperating on advising countries on building their Islamic finance regulations, has become an important issuer with its multi-billion dollar MTN sukuk programme.