Financial Group Hermes, the leading financial services company in emerging markets, announced today that it has obtained the approval of the Financial Supervisory Authority regarding the first issuance of sukuk in the Egyptian market, with a total value of EGP 2 billion in a lease agreement compatible with Islamic Sharia and is negotiable.

 

For expedited and non-convertible payment into shares with a maturity of five years, it is indicated that the beneficiary the Arab Projects and Urban Development and the Sukuk have obtained a credit rating of A+ with a stable outlook from the Middle East Credit Rating Company J and Investors Service (MERIS).

 

This issue is considered the first sukuk issue in the Egyptian market, and it is also considered the largest debt issuance and arrangement deal in the Egyptian pound for the private sector in the history of the Egyptian financial markets. EFG Hermes acted as the sole financial advisor, coordinator, and promoter and guarantor of the deal.

 

Majed Al-Ayouti, vice-president of the Participant for the Promotion and Subscription Coverage Sector, stressed his pride in the initiative team's ability to complete the first operation of its kind in the Egyptian market, and added that the success of completing the last deal despite facing the repercussions of the new coronavirus indicates the ability and efficiency of the work team to seize opportunities and implement and complete deals in various conditions and in all markets in which the sector operates.

 

Al-Ayouti praised the role of the Financial Supervision Authority in developing new financing products and tools that add a new depth to the Egyptian financial markets, and also expressed his pleasure at continuing cooperation with Talaat Mustafa Group, as this deal is the fourth in a row in less than three years, which demonstrates the strength of relations and the partnership that brings the company and its customers to successes, whether in the long or short term.

 

Mustafa Gad, co-chair of the promotion and underwriting sector, stated that the strategy of forming an independent team to manage the debt arrangement deals in the promotional sector and covering the subscriptions that were implemented two years ago paid off, through its contribution to developing the package of services provided by Hermes Financial Group in the markets in which it operates. It resulted in the implementation of several deals that generated returns for the sector in light of the slowdown in the financial markets in the Middle East and the world in general.

 

Where the company succeeded at the end of last year also in the first issuance of short bonds worth EGP 400 million for Hermes Securities Brokerage Company as well as offering short-term securitisation bonds for the first time in the history of the Egyptian market in an issuance of EGP 167 million for Premium International.