CAIRO – 24 August 2021: Egypt is preparing to issue the first sovereign sukuk offering during the second half of the current fiscal year 2021/2022, according to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait. “This contributes to providing the necessary funding for investment projects included in the economic and social development plan in the state’s general budget, to achieve development goals in a manner consistent with the state’s efforts to enhance aspects of spending on improving the standard of living of citizens,” Maait clarified Tuesday. He pointed out that the timing, size and type of offering will be determined later. The minister indicated that the tax treatment prescribed for treasury bonds will also apply to the returns of sovereign sukuks and the return on trading on them, so that the sukuks issued in the local market are listed on the stock exchange, and they are kept in the Central Depository and Custody Company. He pointed out that sukuk issued in international markets issued in foreign currencies are listed on international exchanges in accordance with the rules followed for intergovernmental issuances; This contributes to providing additional cash to the Egyptian economy and reducing the cost of financing investments, especially that these sukuk are issued according to formulas that are compatible with Islamic Sharia principles.
