IslamicFinance.de

Nigeria is looking for financial and legal advisers and trustee firms to organise its first Islamic bond in the domestic market, the country's Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Monday. The Opec member, which is Africa's largest economy, is working on a debut sovereign sukuk but has yet to determine the size of a potential deal. Nigeria, which is in a recession and needs to raise funds to plug a budget deficit, has set up a government committee to advise on the amount to be raised from the Islamic bond sale, the timing and jurisdiction of the issue. Issuance of a sovereign sukuk is part of a plan by Nigeria's debt office to develop alternative sources of funding and to establish a benchmark curve.