IslamicFinance.de

After a string of sukuk issued for purposes of liquidity, Senegal’s recent sukuk bought a welcome return to an Islamic finance transaction for the purposes of social good. Senegal closed its sukuk in late July, marking its second sovereign sukuk issuance. The West African nation will use the proceeds of the CFA 150 billion transaction to finance a drinking water supply program and an implementation program of road network and street lighting. The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) sells bonds on the capital markets to raise funds to save children’s lives. IFFIm has so far issued two sukuk with a December 2014 transaction for $500 million and a September 2015 transaction for $200 million. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) issued a five-year Sukuk in 2015 which was used to support IFC’s developmental financing activities in the Middle East and North Africa. Mahmoud Mohieldin of the World Bank Group said the group planned the issuance of an inaugural humanitarian sukuk program.

The World Bank’s Corporate Secretary Mahmoud Mohieldin expects that gulf oil exporting countries will be affected by the decline in oil prices, welcoming reform measures taken by these countries which include general monetary policies and diversification of income sources. Dr. Mohieldin said that there are golden opportunities in the year of 2016 in light of the declining prices of both mineral products and agricultural goods. The golden opportunity for Arab countries is to take advantage of those declining prices to develop domains of construction and agricultural, alongside other sustainment projects of renewable energy, thus diversifying income sources and endorsing economic reform, growth and stability.