Back to the complete issue
Monday, 5 August 2019

Egypt to tap Arab banks for planned USD 1 bn sovereign sukuk issuance

EXCLUSIVE- Egypt to tap Arab banks for planned USD 1 bn sukuk issuance: The government will not approach international banks to manage a planned USD 1 bn sovereign sukuk issuance later this fiscal year, preferring instead to only work with Arab banks, government sources told Enterprise. “We've already begun talks with a number of banks that have contacted us to learn about Egypt’s plan to issue sovereign sukuks and they’re all Arab with experience,” one of the sources told us without disclosing any names. A senior government official told us in May that the government is hoping to appoint banks by September in order for the issuance to take place in early 2020. A ministerial committee is currently reviewing the legislative procedures, which must be in place before the issuance can proceed.

Background: The sovereign sukuk issuance was initially planned to take place last fiscal year, but Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said earlier this year that the government needed more time to comply with Euroclear requirements. We learned in May that Egypt could take to market its maiden issuance of sovereign sukuks in early 2020 with both medium and long-term maturities. Finance Ministry officials had met with executives from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and other GCC-based institutions to learn more about the process and the target markets. The Financial Regulatory Authority published last week a guide (pdf) on the rules and regulations of issuing sukuks.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.