Jordan looks to speed up Sukuk issuance

Jordan's finance minister, Mohammad Abu Hammour has said the government may need to issue new pieces of legislation or find a new mechanism to speed up the issuance of Islamic sukuk, the Jordan Times has reported. "We are very interested in Islamic sukuk especially that Islamic banks were less affected by the global financial crisis than commercial banks," the minister said, adding that there are some legislative obstacles that restrict the government from using such financing instruments.