The purpose of a financial exchange is to facilitate trading in the securities for which it was created, and this it does by establishing a secure environment for the participants in the market, i.e. the…

Islamic bonds or finance is governed by Islamic rules and principles (Shariah) which, inter alia, prohibit the payment of interest (Riba). Shariah also forbids the investment in businesses that provide goods and services considered contrary…

A number of so-called retail bonds exist in a number of countries of the world. As the name suggests, they are bonds, i.e. have a long term to maturity, and the target market is the…

Global bonds are bonds that are issued and traded in two or more markets but are denominated in the currency of one of the markets. This kind of bond can be traded in a local or…

Eurobonds are bonds that are issued in countries other than the country of the currency in which they are denominated. For example, the Kenyan government could issue a USD-denominated bond in the UK. Another example…

Foreign bonds are bonds issued by foreign entities (usually governments and parastatals) in local currency. They are foreign from the point of view of the local bond market. For example, a bond issued by a…

Extendable bonds are bonds where the issuer has the option to extend the term of the bond beyond the (initial) maturity date for another fixed period or periods (the final maturity date). Because this bond…

Split coupon bonds are similar to Pay-in-kind or PIK bonds in that no interest is paid in the first few years (except that here the issuer has no option). The split coupon bond is a…

Pay-in-kind (PIK) bonds are bonds where the issuer has the option to pay the interest in the form of additional bonds. In some cases the issuer has the option to issue additional bonds in lieu…