As a shell company, the SPV is not in a position to manage or enforce its rights in the context of transaction documents and will therefore generally designate a professional proxy services company as a delegate. The delegate exercises the rights and powers and fulfills the obligations of the SPV (as an agent) in connection with the transaction documents. The delegate also acts on behalf of the holders of the Sukuk certificate as a class to assert their rights against the author. However, in terms of economic impact, the answer is probably yes. Sukuk, as described in AAOIFI`s Sharia Standard 17, are “equivalent certificates that constitute an interest in an underlying physical asset, a usufruit or a service or (property) of the assets of a specific project or investment activity.” Theoretically, the repayment of a sukuk is linked to the return generated by the wealth, project or investment activity that is the basis of the Sukuk certificate. While an investor perceives credit risk on the creditworthiness of the issuer under a conventional bond, his exposure in a sukuk is consequently opposed to the performance or activity in which sukuk holders participate because of their ownership in the sukuk. In 2016, total new sukuk emissions amounted to some $75 billion, which, despite difficult economic conditions in some core markets, showed weak growth compared to the previous year. So, is Sukuk really the Islamic equivalent of a conventional bond? The answer is yes and no. Strictly speaking, a loan is an obligation for the issuer/borrower to repay a certain amount of money at maturity, as well as periodic payments of coupons or interest. Islam does not allow any interest, and therefore a sukuk is not a link in this sense.

Sukuk, as described in AAOIFI`s Sharia Standard 17, are “equivalent certificates that constitute an interest in an underlying physical asset, a usufruit or a service or (property) of the assets of a specific project or investment activity.” At least in theory, the repayment of a sukuk is linked to the return generated by the wealth, project or investment activities that underlie the Sukuk certificate. While an investor faces credit risk to the issuer under a conventional bond, his exposure to a sukuk is related to the performance or activity of the sukuk. However, in practice, the initiator or entity that provides the assets and receives the funds from investors has made a commitment to repurchase the assets in the event of a delay in the value of the capital and the amount of profits accumulated. In addition, the initiator`s obligation to repay is retained by a third-party guarantee or liquidity mechanism, which returns the credit risk to the initiator and/or the surety. In this respect, the economic impact of a sukuk, even if it is structured in a different way, is similar to that of a traditional loan. The SPV does not have any assets other than its rights arising from the transaction documents, and the SPV`s obligations to sukuk holders are limited to the payment of amounts that the initiator receives to investors. One of the main characteristics of any capital market instrument is liquidity. Whether a sukuk is negotiable depends on the underlying Islamic financial structure. According to AAOIFI guidelines, at least 33% of the underlying shares represented by sukuk must be tangible assets for the sukuk to be negotiable (at a value other than face value). Other scientists set this limit at 50%. This restriction has its roots in the Islamic prohibition of interest. If a sukuk is based on murabaha or salam structures, the instrument is an interest in debt and, therefore, trade of a value other than a face value gives rise to interest, which is prohibited.