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.
