Tunisia to debut US$700 million sovereign Sukuk in July (By IFN)

Tunisia to debut US$700 million sovereign Sukuk in July

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TUNISIA: Tunisia’s long-standing plan to introduce Islamic finance into its banking and finance system seems to be on track with finance minister Elyès Fakhfakh’s recent statement that the country is set to debut its sovereign Sukuk to the tune of US$700 million this July. It was first reported in Vol 10, Issue 6 of Islamic Finance news that a legislation governing Islamic finance is likely to be passed by the parliament sometime this year. The finance minister has now confirmed that the government is already in its final stages of establishing a law that would allow Sukuk issuances in the country, which is expected to be approved by May. The government is currently deliberating on the underlying assets to be used for the issuance, as well as the percentage to be allocated towards domestic and foreign investors; with a view to maintain a bigger portion for foreign investors. “We think it will be one-third internal and two-thirds for the external market,” Elyès said to Reuters. In November 2012, the then-acting finance minister, Slim Besbes noted that the government is eyeing up to TND1 million (US$623,932) worth of Sukuk to finance the federal budget. The country is also expected to sign a US$1.7 billion financing deal with the IMF next month; proceeds of which will be put towards the country’s emergency fund.