BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 18. Egypt has successful
experience in issuing sukuk, Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and
Economic Development and Governor for Egypt at the Islamic
Development Bank (IsDB), said during an event themed "Labelled
Sukuk — The Next Frontier" held within the framework of the IsDB
Group Annual Meeting in Baku, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
According to him, Egypt placed a three-year, $1.5 billion issue
under the $5 billion international sovereign sukuk program.
"Demand exceeded supply by approximately four times, and the
cost of funds was nearly 70 basis points lower than our traditional
borrowing instruments," he said.
Rostom noted that this was a major success for Egypt and an
important step, allowing it to enter this market and leverage the
experience gained in the future.
"We didn't limit ourselves to the international level. We are
also considering issuing national securities, as there is huge
demand for this within the country. This has encouraged the private
sector to also raise financing through corporate sukuk," the
minister said.
Rostom noted that the concept of labeled sukuk is closely
aligned with the principles of Islamic finance, integrating
environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) approaches
and socially responsible investing.
"The fundamental principles underlying these concepts are
organically integrated into Islamic finance, and particularly into
the sukuk instrument. This is why market entry with products such
as labelled sukuk is typically quite successful," he
emphasized.
