Morocco is looking at issuing bonds worth about $1 billion on the international market this year.

According to a senior official from Morocco’s ministry of finance who asked not to be named, the fundraising will be the Kingdom’s first step toward plugging its budget deficit, Reuters reports.

While this deficit is expected to expand to 3% of the gross domestic product for 2017, the nation might issue its first Islamic bond on its domestic market during the first half of the year.

Morocco is thus taking advantage of the favorable rates of the debt market. Based on forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and on its Finance bill, the economy should grow by 4.4% - 4.5%.

Aaron Akinocho