Egypt Takes on Sukuk

Egypt is getting ready to offer its first sovereign bonds (Sukuk), almost the first of its kind for the country, following parliament’s — House of Representatives — approval on the sovereign bonds (Sukuk) bill, said Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait on Monday.

The parliament approved on Sunday the new bill, which is waiting on the final vote of a two-thirds majority of MPs.

The bill received cabinet approval in November 2020.

The bill paves the way for Egypt’s government to usher in an Islamic financing system, which recorded $2.7 trillion in transactions globally by the end of June, according to Maait.

If passed, the bill will see Egypt attracting new types of investors who will pour extra finances and liquidity into Egypt’s governmental financial market and will contribute to putting the cost of the state’s public budget deficit on a downturn as well, according to the minister.