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This study aims to contribute by expanding the existing literature on Sukuk return and volatility and exploring the implications of the Sukuk-exchange rate interactions.

This study examines the dynamic interactions of Sukuk with exchange rate in 15 countries, employing the Wavelet approach that considers both time and investment horizons.

The results reveal significant evolving coherence of Sukuk return and volatility with the underlying exchange rate. The relationship is more potent than what this study witnesses in their counterpart bond market. For Sukuk returns, the coherence is negative, whereas it is positive for volatility. Notably, the coherence is strong in the medium to long term and intensifies during extreme economic episodes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are further validated by comparing firm-level matched data for Sukuk and conventional bond.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that reports the dynamic relationship of Sukuk return and volatility with the underlying exchange rate in 15 countries. Collectively, this study unites valuable insights for faith-based active Islamic investors and cross-border portfolio managers.

This study aims to examine the hedge and safe-haven properties of the Sukuk and green bond for the stock markets pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

To test the hedge and safe-haven characteristics of Sukuk and green bonds for stock markets, the study first uses the methodology proposed by Ratner and Chiu (2013). Next, the authors estimate the hedge ratios and hedge effectiveness of using Sukuk and green bonds in a portfolio with stock markets.

Strong safe-haven features of ethical (green) bonds reveal that adding green bonds into the investment portfolios brings considerable diversification avenues for the investors who tend to take fewer risks in periods of economic stress and turbulence. The hedge ratio and hedge effectiveness estimates reveal that green bonds provide sufficient evidence of the hedge effectiveness for various international stocks.

The study has significant implications for faith-based investors, ethical investors, policymakers and regulatory bodies. Religious investors can invest in Sukuk to relish low-risk and interest-free investments, whereas green investors can satisfy their socially responsible motives by investing in these investment streams. Policymakers can direct the businesses to include these diversifiers for portfolio and risk management.

The study provides novel insights in the testing hedge and safe-haven attributes of green bonds and Sukuk while using unique methodologies to identify multiple low-risk investors for investors following the uncertain COVID-19 pandemic.