IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia’s Jabal Omar Development Company has hired two banks to manage a sukuk sale which could exceed 4 billion riyals ($1.07 billion). Bank Albilad and GIB Capital were hired to arrange the issuance, which is planned for the first quarter of 2018. The property developer's sukuk would be among just a few corporate debt sales expected over the next few months, as the Saudi market is still largely dominated by government bonds. The government has issued a total of 47 billion riyals through monthly sukuk sales since July, and is likely to continue. Jabal Omar’s flagship Mecca development project includes residential units, hotels and commercial malls. The company has raised a number of large bank loans over the past few years, and the sukuk proceeds would be used to refinance its existing bank debt.

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is set to meet fixed income investors starting Sunday ahead of a potential dollar-denominated sukuk transaction. The AAA-rated IDB has picked nine banks to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East and Asia, a benchmark offering will follow, subject to market conditions. CIMB, Dubai Islamic Bank, GIB Capital, HSBC, Natixis, NCB Capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, RHB Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered have been chosen to arrange the sukuk sale. IDB, which last issued $1.5 billion in five-year Islamic bonds in September, is looking to increase its issuance of sukuk, partly to raise its profile among international investors and to secure similar pricing levels to other development banks.