Saudi Binladin prices $267m sukuk issue

Saudi Binladin Group, one of the kingdom's largest construction firms, has priced an Islamic bond with a 364-day tenor worth 1 billion riyals ($267 million). The transaction, arranged by the investment banking arm of Gulf International Bank and BNP Paribas' Saudi unit, was priced with a profit rate of 2.5 percent. The funds from the issue will reportedly be used to finance costs related to its work at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Binladin is the main contractor for the project, which aims to increase the airport's capacity to handle 80 million passengers annually by 2035. The terms of the sukuk are the same as those on the company's last Islamic bond offer in July 2013, which was arranged by the same banks.