Regulatory guidelines governing Sukuk issuances has been introduced in the Philippines, aimed to expand the domestic Islamic capital market.
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) outlined the registration, disclosure, and structural requirements for these Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments.
According to a report by FinTech News Philippines, the new rules mandate that issuers either form a dedicated Shari’ah Committee or hire an independent Shari’ah advisor to oversee the transaction to guarantee compliance. Under this framework, eligible issuers include publicly listed firms, non-listed stock corporations, and specific Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) created for these transactions.
Whilst public offerings require formal SEC registration, government bodies and central bank-supervised institutions remain exempt from this specific circular.
Meanwhile, publicly offered Sukuk must be supported by a Trust Deed and secure a credit rating from an accredited agency to assess risk profiles.
