Morocco will issue its second sovereign sukuk, marking a renewed push into Islamic finance after a seven-year pause, Central Bank Governor Abdellatif Jouahri announced Thursday.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) meeting in Rabat, Jouahri said the central bank and finance ministry are finalizing technical preparations for the sukuk, with the country’s top religious body, the Higher Council of Ulema, assessing sharia compliance. He did not disclose the issuance size or date.
Morocco’s only previous sukuk offering in 2018 raised 1 billion dirhams ($110 million) and matured in 2023.
Islamic finance, introduced in Morocco in 2017 as “participatory banking,” remains a niche segment, representing just 2% of total banking assets. According to Jouahri, Islamic banks have extended 35 billion dirhams in loans but attracted only 12 billion in deposits, highlighting ongoing liquidity challenges.
Despite its limited size, Morocco’s Islamic finance sector recorded the world’s second-fastest growth between 2019 and 2024, expanding by 27.6%, per IFSB data.
Ghiat Shabsigh, Secretary General of the IFSB, told Reuters that building a stronger government sukuk market could unlock further growth and serve as a blueprint for other emerging Islamic finance markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia.