Common Challenges Facing New Debt Issuers

Prospective new sovereign/corporate issuers (in the emerging & frontier markets) often tumbled into unchartered territory with debut sukuk issuance, especially if that jurisdiction of an issuer has never issued an Islamic debt instruments before. There is no easy crash course that can summarize what these prospective issuers can expect as each jurisdiction has its own unique challenges.

Here is a summary of the main common challenges and what should prospective new issuers expect with debut issuance.

Regulation

On the regulation side, issuers need to be mindful of local and international regulations that regulate debt issuance. Sukuk offerings may take longer to structure and document than conventional offerings owing to the need to establish...