Iranian Companies Plan Sukuk Sales

About 180 companies are considering Islamic bond sales in 2016 after a decade of international sanctions, according to Hossein Saeedi, a senior financial analyst at the corporate finance division of Tehran-based Amin Investment Bank. The companies have already started planning to design specific financial instruments to attract foreign investors to come to the Iranian market, Saeedi said. If the sanctions are lifted, they are looking for aggressive sukuk financing. Iran is home to the world’s biggest Islamic banking industry but market instability and currency fluctuation have been among the impediments to growth.