New Sukuk Guidelines Introduced to Boost Philippine Islamic Finance

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a regulatory guidelines governing Sukuk issuances to expand the domestic Islamic capital market.

Issued on 25 February 2026, Memorandum Circular No. 12 outlines the registration, disclosure, and structural requirements for these Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments.

Sukuk function as certificates that grant investors undivided ownership interests in underlying assets, services, or projects, adhering strictly to Islamic financial principles.

To guarantee compliance, the new rules mandate that issuers either form a dedicated Shari’ah Committee or hire an independent Shari’ah advisor to oversee the transaction.

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.

Furthermore, publicly offered Sukuk must be supported by a Trust Deed and secure a credit rating from an accredited agency to assess risk profiles.

SEC Chairperson Francis Lim highlighted that the commission views Sukuk as a vital tool for attracting capital.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by mkmult via Freepik.

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