On the sidelines of the second edition of Africa Forum on Islamic Finance organized by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Jacques Konan Assahoré, managing director of Cote d’Ivoire’s treasury and public accounts, declared that Senegal, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire listed five sukuks worth FCFA766 billion ($1.28 billion).

Senegal raised 300 billion CFA francs between 2014 and 2016, Cote d’Ivoire 310 billion between 2015 and 2016 and Togo 156 billion this year, Reuters indicates.

The Islamic bonds are issued on the WAEMU’s financial market and listed on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) to allow all those willing to buy or sell securities to do so. “This insures the liquidity of securities and allows investors to sell or buy them,” said BRVM’s managing director, Edoh Kossi Amenounce, adding that the bonds had been fully listed (100% of their value).

Let’s recall that Senegal was WAEMU’s first member to issue a sukuk in June 2014 for 100 billion CFA francs, followed by Cote d’Ivoire and Togo in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

More and more Sukuks or sharia compliants bonds are being issued in Africa. Due to their flexible nature, they interest various African governments.

Alain Okpeitcha