Omantel’s inaugural venture into the international sukuk market came in the form of a $500 million, seven-year paper that broke new ground in Islamic finance structuring.
Instead of pledging fixed assets, the telecommunications company anchored the sukuk on the flow of fixed-line and mobile data services – quantified in gigabytes – yet still achieved a 100% tangible ratio, satisfying Shariah requirements under AAOIFI standards.
The innovation let the Omani telecom operator access capital without encumbering physical infrastructure while signalling the asset-light possibilities for other Gulf government-related entities.
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