Morocco Considers First Islamic Bond in Years, Says Monetary Chief

Morocco Considers First Islamic Bond in Years, Says Monetary Chief
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Morocco is considering issuing Islamic bonds in 2025 after a seven-year pause, according to the central bank governor, as part of efforts to attract investment for the 2030 men’s football World Cup, Bloomberg reported. Governor Abdellatif Jouahri told Bloomberg at an Islamic finance conference in Rabat on Thursday that the government is “studying” a new sukuk issuance planned before the end of the year, though he did not specify whether it would be denominated in local or foreign currency.

The country last issued Islamic debt in 2018, while it has continued to issue conventional bonds more recently, including €2 billion ($2.4 billion) of four- and ten-year bonds in April 2025, with the ten-year bonds yielding about 4.7%. Jouahri noted that the absence of sovereign Islamic debt was a challenge, especially since the last sukuk matured in 2023, and emphasized Morocco’s efforts to develop its Islamic finance sector.

Since launching its “participative finance” system in 2017, Morocco has made progress but still faces hurdles such as limited liquidity and lengthy approval processes for new financial products. No corporate sukuk has yet been issued domestically. Jouahri expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the sector, highlighting that participative finance firms hold only about 2% of total banking assets. While the foundational infrastructure for Islamic finance is in place, authorities are working to identify and remove obstacles to growth, aiming to increase its role in financing projects, including those related to the green energy transition.