Register | Forgot password?
Switch to Arabic
Wednesday, November 11 - 2009

Dar Al Arkan of Saudi Arabia lists landmark USD600 million Sukuk on DIFX

  • United Arab Emirates: Monday, May 28 - 2007 at 14:46
  • PRESS RELEASE

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company (DAAR), a prominent Saudi Arabian property developer, today listed a USD600 million Sukuk on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

Article continues below
  • Left to right: Hamed Ali, Executive Officer, DIFX, Falah Al-Falah, Chief Executive, UIB Capital Ltd. (Dubai), Per E. Larsson, Chief Executive, DIFX, Abdullatif Alshalash, Managing Director, Dar Al-Arkan, Majid Al-Sayed Bader Al-Refai, Managing Director and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Unicorn Investment Bank and Tahir Naseem, Senior Director - Capital Markets, Unicorn Investment Bank.
    Left to right: Hamed Ali, Executive Officer, DIFX, Falah Al-Falah, Chief Executive, UIB Capital Ltd. (Dubai), Per E. Larsson, Chief Executive, DIFX, Abdullatif Alshalash, Managing Director, Dar Al-Arkan, Majid Al-Sayed Bader Al-Refai, Managing Director and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Unicorn Investment Bank and Tahir Naseem, Senior Director - Capital Markets, Unicorn Investment Bank.
It is the first Sukuk from a Saudi issuer to list on the DIFX. It brings the number of Sukuk on the DIFX to six with a total value of $8.98 billion, underlining the exchanges's stature as the biggest in the world for Sukuk by listed value.

The Sukuk is the first to be issued by a Saudi company in the international capital markets. It is listed solely on the DIFX and was sold to investors in Europe, southeast Asia and the Middle East after being significantly oversubscribed.

Abdullatif Alshalash, Managing Director of DAAR said:

"With its international status and its leading role in Islamic finance, the DIFX is the right venue to give our Sukuk high visibility globally and in the region. The Sukuk's success with investors demonstrates the growing appetite for well structured securities in this asset class, notably in the real estate sector."


"The Sukuk enables international investors to diversify their investment portfolio in the Saudi real estate sector."

Per E. Larsson, Chief Executive of the DIFX, said: "As one of Saudi Arabia's largest residential property developers, DAAR is a significant addition to our list of issuers. With more than 100 Sukuk issued globally last year, this asset class is growing fast and we look forward to many more listings."

DAAR's Sukuk is a 3-year issue based on an Ijara structure. The issuer is DAAR International Sukuk Company, which was specially created by DAAR for the purpose, and the financial advisers were ABC Islamic Bank, Standard Bank, Arab National Bank, Unicorn Investment Bank and WestLB.

Hamed Ali, Executive Officer of the DIFX, said: "Issuers are increasingly seeing the value of listing their Sukuk in order to raise their profile and increase investor confidence. As the international exchange serving its region, the DIFX offers the right listing platform fro regional and international issuers."
Also consider reading:
Log in to request more information from Nasdaq Dubai

Notes and media contacts

For further information on the DIFX, please contact:

Amira Abdulla
Dubai International Financial Centre
Tel: +971.4.362.2433
Mark Fisher
Dubai International Financial Exchange
Tel: +971.4.3622451

About DIFX
The DIFX is the region's first international financial exchange for equities, bonds, Islamic products, funds, index products and (subject to regulatory approval) derivatives. The target areas of the DIFX for seeking issuers include the Middle East and North Africa, as well as South Africa, Turkey and the Indian sub-continent.

The exchange launched in September 2005 and currently has 20 Members - ABN AMRO, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arbuthnot Securities, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, EFG-Hermes, Hichens, Harrison & Co, HSBC, ING Bank NV, Jefferies International, KAS BANK, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Mashreq Capital (DIFC), NBD Investment Bank, SHUAA Capital, Standard Chartered and UBS.

Issuers on the DIFX: Equities - Albaraka Banking Group (ordinary shares), Boulder Steel (ordinary shares), Citigold Corporation (ordinary shares), Fortune Management (ordinary shares), Gold Fields (American depositary shares), Hikma Pharmaceuticals (global depositary receipts), Kingdom Hotel Investments (ordinary shares), Man Industries (India) (global depositary receipts), Rana Sugars (global depositary receipts); Bonds - Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (Euro Medium Term Notes), MashreqBank (Euro Medium Term Notes), National Bank of Dubai (Euro Medium Term Notes); Islamic products - Aabar Sukuk (Sukuk), DIB Sukuk (Sukuk), Nakheel Development (Sukuk), Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (Sukuk), TID Global Sukuk (Sukuk); Structured Products - Deutsche Bank (certificates over indices).

The regulator of the DIFX is the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its owner is DIFC Investments.

Disclaimer:

Articles in this section are primarily provided directly by the companies appearing or PR agencies which are solely responsible for the content. The companies concerned may use the above content on their respective web sites provided they link back to http://www.ameinfo.com

Any opinions, advice, statements, offers or other information expressed in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited. AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited is not responsible or liable for the content, accuracy or reliability of any material, advice, opinion or statement in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site.

For details about submitting your stories, please read the guide - all content published is subject to our terms and conditions