Egypt’s Central Bank, Islamic Finance Association Welcome Sukuk Bill

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Egyptian Islamic Finance Association (EIFA) have welcomed the sukuk bill, affirming that the Egyptian economy is in need for such an instrument to finance projects and reduce the budget deficit.

Nidal Assar, sub-governor of CBE, stated that the Shura Council (upper house of parliament) has taken CBE’s observations on the bill into account. CBE called on the Council to pass the law so as to benefit from such an instrument amid the current economic challenges, he added during a meeting with Shura Council’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.

Egyptian Islamic Finance Association supports the law as sukuk will relieve the burdens imposed on the country’s budget, said Mohamed El-Beltagy, CEO of EIFA. He demanded that the supervisory role of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority on sukuk shall be clarified. He also asked the Council to clarify how sukuk will provide investors with liquidity and determine the types of accounting treatment in the law and the body that will guarantee the rights of sukuk holders.