Egypt attempts to deal with budget deficit with the selling of sukuk

Egypt is trying to reduce its deficit by the sale of sukuk and a loan agreement with the IMF

Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said Egypt plans to sell sukuk, or Islamic bonds, after new legislation on the debt instrument is passed within three months, a step aimed at meeting the budget deficit.

Qandil, speaking in an interview in Cairo, said he had no further details on the possible issuance, which would be used along with sales of traditional domestic debt and international aid to meet the fiscal year's budget deficit of 135 billion Egyptian pounds ($22 billion), or 7.6 per cent of economic output.

A loan agreement of as much as $4.8 billion with the International Monetary Fund is expected to be completed by the end of November, he said.