EFG Hermes gets Egypt FRA’s approval for CIRA’s EGP 600 million Sukuk issuance

The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) gave the greenlight to EFG Hermes Sukuk Company, part of investment bank EFG Hermes Group, to issue Sukuk Al-Mudarabah for Cairo for Investment and Real Estate Development (CIRA) to finance its expansion in the field of education.

In the Sukuk Al-Mudarabah, the Sukuk holders are entitled to a pre-agreed share of the profits and bear the losses in proportion to their respective share in the capital, if any, unless such loss is a result of the negligence of the issuer

The Sharia-compliant Sukuk will be offered for eligible private financial institutions and investors at a nominal value of 100 Egyptian pounds apiece, totalling 600 million pounds ($38.2 million), CIRA said

The issuance of the Sukuk, carrying a maturity of 82 months, is managed by EFG Hermes as a financial advisor, lead arranger, and bookrunner.

Ahli United Bank, Suez Canal Bank, National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Banque du Caire acted as underwriters for the transaction.

CIRA’s offering is the third of its kind in the Egyptian market during 2020. Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) initiated the first Sukuk issuance, worth 2 billion pounds, at the beginning of the year, while the second Sukuk offering by Sarwa Capital, at a value of 2.5 billion pounds, was approved earlier this month. CIRA’s Sukuk issuance would bring the total value of issued Sukuk this year to 5.1 billion pounds.

CIRA offers a variety of educational curricula, including British, American, French, German, Canadian, and Egyptian curricula through 21 schools owned by the company. It operates most of its schools under its Futures brand.

The company’s activities also cover the higher education sector, through Badr University in Cairo (BUC), which was launched