Egypt to issue international sovereign sukuk

Egypt

plans to issue its first international sovereign sukuk in the 2019-2020 financial year, Finance Minister Mohammad Maait said yesterday.

Maait did not give the size of the planned offering. Egypt is aiming to issue about $20 billion (Dh73 billion) in foreign currencydenominated bonds by 2022.

Issuing sukuk could allow Egypt to attract a new class of investor, as it implements a three-year IMF-backed economic reform programme agreed in late 2016.

The country has borrowed heavily from abroad since then. (Reuters)