CAIRO: Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait has said the country is preparing to issue the first sovereign sukuk, or Shariah-compliant Islamic bonds, during the second half of the current fiscal year.
He said executive regulations for a new law allowing for issuance of sukuk are expected in the next three months, and the government is planning to form a state-owned company to manage sukuk issuance.
Returns on sukuk, which could be offered in local or foreign currency, would be taxed in the same way as Egyptian treasury bonds, the Finance Ministry said.
Funds raised through sukuk would be used to help fund the government’s social and economic development projects, the ministry added.
Egypt has been trying to diversify and extend the average maturity of its debt.
