Sarwa just got Egypt’s first sukuk issuer license: Consumer- and structured-finance player Sarwa Capital has been granted the country’s first sukuk issuer license by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the company said in a statement to the bourse (pdf). Sarwa now has the green light to issue the sharia-compliant bonds through its sukuk arm, Sarwa Sukuk Company. Sarwa had applied for the license back in January.

Background: The FRA issued regulations governing sukuk in April. The regulations stipulate that the bond issuances be approved by a religious committee and issued through an independent body that monitors issuances. It also said issuances must be worth at least EGP 50 mn. Two unnamed companies partially owned by the government had expressed their interest last month in issuing sukuk bonds to finance new projects this year, with one of the companies saying it will carry out the issuance through Sarwa Capital.