IslamicFinance.de

Nigeria and Ivory Coast are looking to emulate Senegal's successful move into the market for Islamic bonds, Khaled Al-Aboodi, head of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), said. The ICD helped arrange Senegal's debut 100 billion CFA francs ($208 million) Islamic bond, also known as sukuk, last June. Al-Aboodi added they were exploring with Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The issuance by Senegal has opened up the whole region, he said. The ICD hopes to support at least two countries in 2015 to issue a sukuk. Meanwhile, Niger has signed up for a sukuk programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), although the timing has yet to be determined.