Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, confirmed, The state is keen to diversify the sources and tools of financing by attracting new segments of Egyptian and foreign investors wishing to invest in accordance with Islamic law, thus contributing to reducing the cost of financing development through green sovereign sukuk and sustainable development sukuk to provide the necessary liquidity to implement the investment, development and green projects included in the budgeted economic and social development plan. general state; Consistent with the state’s efforts to stimulate the demand for government issues of securities and debt instruments that are issued in local and foreign currencies, To enhance the aspects of spending on improving the standard of living of citizens and meeting the development needs of the state, Pointing out that the government is preparing to issue the first sovereign sukuk offering during the coming period; Which helps in achieving the desired goals.
Minister added, After the approval of the Council of Ministers on the executive regulations of the Sovereign Sukuk Law, This regulation was prepared in cooperation with Al-Azhar and the Financial Supervisory Authority. and local and international law firms to cover all legal aspects, and give legal and technical character in accordance with formulas compatible with the principles of Islamic Sharia, He explained that the sukuk is issued in the form of a paper or electronic certificate with the specifications determined by the executive regulations of the law. and nominal, of equal value, They are issued for a specific period in Egyptian pounds or foreign currencies through public or private offerings in the local market or in international markets.
Minister said, The issuance of sukuk is on the basis of the assets that will be privately owned by the state. By selling the usufruct of these assets without the right of the neck, or rent it, or by any other method consistent with the contract of issuance of these Sukuk in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia, Provided that a decision is issued by the Prime Minister defining the fixed and movable assets owned by the state as “private property” on the basis of which the sukuk are issued. So that there is a mechanism for evaluating the right to use these assets or in return for renting them for this purpose. Provided that the maximum period for determining the right to usufruct or lease these assets is thirty years in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution. These assets may be leased back to the issuer.
Minister indicated, To the fact that sovereign sukuk are issued in accordance with the formulas that are compatible with the issuance contract and the contracts associated with it, including the murabaha sukuk that are issued on the basis of the murabaha contract, The proceeds of its issuance from the Sovereign Securitization Company shall be used; To finance the purchase of usufruct rights on Murabaha assets from a supplier or owner, Ijarah sukuk issued on the basis of a contract that includes the transfer of the usufruct of the assets and concluded between the issuer and the sovereign bond company with the intention of leasing them to the issuer under a lease contract. and industrial sukuk issued on the basis of manufacturing assets for the purpose of selling or leasing usufruct rights to these assets, and the sukuk represents a common share in the ownership of usufruct rights of manufactured assets, and sukuk issued on the basis of an agency contract to invest in usufruct rights of assets, The issuer may combine two or more of these versions for the same issue. The issuer may also issue sovereign sukuk of all kinds, including green sukuk or sustainable development sukuk, provided that the oversight committee is approved.
He explained that the prescribed tax treatment on public treasury bonds will apply to the returns of sovereign sukuk bonds and the return on trading on them, and is followed in linking and collecting the taxes due on the returns of sovereign sukuk bonds and the return on trading on them, the same procedures followed regarding linking and collecting taxes due on public treasury bonds, Pointing out that the owners of sovereign sukuk are entitled during the issuance period to profits or periodic returns in proportion to the amount of the sukuk contribution and the redeemable value at the end of the sovereign sukuk term or on the expedited redemption date, Circulating sovereign sukuks according to their issuance formulas and forming a group for sukuk holders to protect the common interests of its members in accordance with the provisions of the law and its executive regulations.
Minister indicated, that work will be done to form a “oversight committee” consisting of economics, finance and law experts and some scholars of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, and it will be concerned with summarizing the issuances technically and legally and approving the controls related to the sukuk. In addition to establishing a state-owned company to manage and implement the process of “staking” government sovereign sukuk, Provided that the issuance is in accordance with any of the forms compatible with the principles of Islamic Sharia approved by the oversight committee stipulated by law. On the basis of the issue contract, Issuance is subject to its circulation and its retrieval of the controls, rules and procedures that are compatible with the principles of Islamic Sharia, The sovereign sukuk company may deal in more than one issuance and prepare an annual report in relation to the investments according to their use for the purposes for which they were issued, and the issues according to their value, the value of the returns due to the sukuk holders and their maturity dates.
