ISLAMIC BONDS ‘CAN EASE SA’S FISCAL DEBT CRISIS’

ISLAMIC bonds, known as sukuks, may provide a way out of South Africa’s looming fiscal debt crisis. This is the view of Saliegh Salaam, portfolio manager at Old Mutual Investment Group’s Customised Solutions, who says sukuks may be the innovative approach we need to rebuild the economy. Salaam says sukuks can finance incomegenerating, sharia-compliant projects in green infrastructure, such as wind and solar plants, which the finance minister described as the “flywheel” to grow the economy. “Sukuks provide an ideal way of financing projects that improve and promote sustainable development without falling into interest-based debt. This strategy goes hand-in-hand with bolstering economic growth and meeting a range of social needs, including education, health, social protection and job opportunities,” Salaam says.

UNIT TRUST PRICES: As a result of space constraints, we are unable to publish the unit trust prices. The performance data can be found at www.fundsdata.co.za/navs