Tax-News.Com Archive

Sponsored by: PEARSE TRUST
Independent advice on corporate and trust structures

ARCHIVE ROOT | TODAY'S NEWS | LOWTAX

Landmark $1 Billion Saudi Sukuk Listed On LFX
by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

16 August 2007

Dar Al-Arkan International Sukuk Company has listed its landmark US$1 billion Sukuk Al-Ijara on the Labuan International Financial Exchange (LFX), it emerged recently, marking the first Saudi corporate Sukuk to list on the LFX.

The Sukuk was arranged by a consortium of international banks on behalf of Dar Al- Arkan Real Estate Development Company, a leading residential real estate developer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Sukuk has also been listed on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

Launched in June, the Sukuk issue received an overwhelming response from institutions across the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe. It was significantly oversubscribed, raising close to US$1.5 billion, with Dar Al-Arkan opting to close the issue at US$1 billion. The Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners of the transaction were ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Arab National Bank, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Gulf International Bank B.S.C., Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad and Unicorn Investment Bank B.S.C.(c). Unicorn Investment Bank B.S.C.(c) was also the Shari’ah and Structuring Advisor. AmInternational (L) Limited is the LFX Listing Sponsor for the Sukuk.

The landmark 5-year issue, based on an Ijara structure, marks the second Sukuk to be issued by Dar Al-Arkan. In March this year, the company closed its inaugural Sukuk at US$600 million, marking the first Sukuk to be issued by a Saudi corporate in the international capital markets. The inaugural Dar Al-Arkan Sukuk is listed on the DIFX.

Commenting on the Dar Al-Arkan Sukuk’s listing on the LFX, YBhg. Dato' Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, Board Member of LFX and Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia observed that: “This is truly a landmark event in the history of the LFX. Given the growing interest on the part of investors from South East Asia in Middle Eastern instruments, we hope the listing of this Sukuk on the LFX will provide the platform to enhance the liquidity and trading of Sukuks among international investors.”

Dato’ Yusli added that the Dar Al-Arkan Sukuk is the largest Sukuk listed on LFX, and predicted that this listing will bring in new investors to the region.

Abdullatif Al-Shalash, Managing Director and board member of Dar Al-Arkan stated that: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to list our latest Sukuk issue on the LFX. The truly international nature of this Sukuk and the overwhelming response from investors affirms the strength of Dar Al-Arkan’s business model, our strong growth prospects and the confidence of the international financial 2 community in our strategy. Dar Al-Arkan is committed to playing a leading role in providing affordable housing solutions that meet international standards for middle income families across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Majid Al Sayed Bader Al-Refai, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Unicorn Investment Bank B.S.C.(c) commented: "The listing of this second landmark transaction for Dar Al-Arkan on the LFX represents a further important milestone in the development of the Islamic capital markets. We look forward to continuing to partner with regional and international financial institutions to expand the boundaries of the Islamic finance industry."

A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series examining offshore investment, offshore stock exchanges, trusts and hedge funds is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report9.asp

 


IMPORTANT NOTICE: TAX-NEWS.COM has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright TAX-NEWS.COM 1999 to 2007. Contact us for further information.