Egypt will attempt to raise $1 billion by June from the sale of its first Islamic bonds (sukuk) with the cabinet completing a draft law to allow sukuk sales. The government anticipates the political turmoil within the country to stabilize and the raised capital from the bonds to help lessen the blow of Egypt’s downgraded credit rating (S&P lowered the country’s credit rating to B-, the same as Greece and Pakistan).
The cabinet’s draft was revised by the ruling Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and sharia scholar Hussein Hassan. Officials have compiled a list of about 25 projects that could be used as collateral for future sales.
Egypt has been on the prowl to shore up extra cash particularly with the IMF loan still in limbo. The country’s president Mohamed Morsi recently met with India’s prime minister to establish further bilateral cooperation inking seven new agreements.
The latest also has money coming in from neighboring Libya with the Arab Spring country pledging $2 billion for Egypt’s rehabilitation, the new Libyan ambassador to Cairo Mohamed Fayez Gibril told the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Libya has also agreed to supply crude as well as giving Egypt’s Arab Contractors Co. over $440 million in projects.
The money, to be deposited to the Central Bank of Egypt, comes after Egypt’s prosecutor general promised to extradite two former Libyan regime officials wanted on charges of corruption, according to the AFP. Egypt arrested Ahmed Qadhaf Al Dam and other figures under the Qaddafi regime like Libyan Ambassador Ali Maria, brother of senior Qaddafi official Ahmed Ibrahim, and the former Libyan leader’s cousin on March 19.
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