An increasing number of African countries are considering issuing sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in a push to fund their huge infrastructure needs and to diversify their investor base, Standard and Poor’s has said in a report. South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritania have all announced in recent years their intention to issue sukuk bonds.
Standard and Poor’s said in a report that following the Arab spring and the rising influence of Islamist parties in some countries has put the development of Islamic finance on their governments’ agendas. Egypt for example, has recently presented a law allowing sovereign sukuk issuance, which would help finance the country’s high fiscal deficits and also provide funding for the current account deficit, while Tunisia’s 2013 budget law expects to finance its fiscal deficit partly by sukuk issuance, said the ratings company………………………………………..Full Article: Source