Japan's JICA to start work on Jordan's debut sukuk

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the government of Jordan will begin work in the coming weeks on a debut issuance of Islamic bonds. In October, JICA signed an agreement with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), to develop its Islamic finance capability. Jordan is JICA's first target. JICA and ICD will start their joint technical assistance to the country within a month, Tetsutaro Kon, director in charge of Middle East operations at JICA, said. The consultation would continue over the next six months and address details such as currency and tenor of the sukuk.