A study on the legal and regulatory framework of sukuk for infrastructure development in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a Muslim majority nation where the Islamic Financing instruments are very few and less attractive. As the nation is in need for continuous infrastructure development but it is always deemed within limited sources of funds. Foreign Direct Investment was the main source for funding in various sectors and Bangladesh is heavily depending on the foreign aid to develop priority sectors through Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. This created a financial pressure to the government of Bangladesh, leaving the country in external indebtedness. This study is mainly concerning on the Sukuk issuance which is Shariah Compliant Financing instruments. The main objective of this study therefore, is to examine the possibility of introducing Sukuk within the extant law of Bangladesh, after appraising the lessons learned from the legal and regulatory framework of Sukuk in three leading jurisdictions mainly Malaysia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To achieve this objective, the study employed a qualitative research methodology and used different approaches in data analysis, such as historical, comparative and analytical. The study discovered that there is not yet to undertake the development legal and regulatory framework for Sukuk in Bangladesh. The study also found that Bangladeshi legal system is flexible because Islamic financial activities are operating side by side with the conventional legal system in the country since 1983. This study proposes a comprehensive framework for Sukuk which comprises three-tire mechanism in order to screen against any potential risk of Shariah principles. This study also recommends to set up Shariah committee under three institutions mainly Bangladesh Bank, Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of corporate issuer and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure the functions of Sukuk are truly Shariah compliant. However, it requires a robust legal and regulatory framework to effectively operate in the country.