28 May, 2007Dar Al Arkan of Saudi Arabia lists landmark $600 million sukuk on DIFX

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company (DAAR), a prominent Saudi Arabian property developer, today listed a $600 million Sukuk on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

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.