Business & Money | Monday 10 February, 2020 12:30 pm |

Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, has been awarded ‘Deal of the Year’ by Bonds, Loans and Sukuk Middle East for its debut sukuk issuance.

The SAR 750 million (US$200 million) sukuk issuance, a private offering to sophisticated investors that attracted a healthy orderbook,, was the first debt transaction by a non-sovereign issuer in the Kingdom in 2019.

Commenting on the award, Fabrice Susini, CEO of SRC said: “We have worked hard to set up our sukuk programme and we are very pleased to be recognised for our efforts. This award is a testament to our mission of increasing home ownership in the Kingdom, as well as our commitment to supporting the housing goals attached to Vision 2030. We will continue to improve funding and inject liquidity into the market, enabling lenders to offer accessible housing finance solutions to Saudi citizens.” 

 

In December 2018, SRC established a sukuk programme which allows it to issue up to SAR 11 billion of Islamic bonds. Subsequently in 2019, the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia signed a credit support agreement with SRC, whereby the Ministry guarantees SRC’s future sukuk issuances.

 

SRC intends to refinance 20 percent of Saudi Arabia’s mortgage market, which is forecast to grow to SAR 500 billion in 2020 and SAR 800 billion in the next ten years. 

 

Since its inception, SRC has been working relentlessly to promote the development of the housing finance market in Saudi Arabia by improving liquidity and bolstering a secondary mortgage market in the Kingdom.

 

The Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards recognises the year’s most innovative and ground-breaking deals from sovereign, corporate and financial institution issuers and borrowers from the Middle East. 

The Award is the second industry recognition for SRC’s debut sukuk issuance after it won the ‘Best Finance Deal of the Year’ award by Global Business Outlook in 2019.