Sharjah developer Arada raises $100mln in tap of existing sukuk

Sharjah developer Arada raises $100mln in tap of existing sukuk

Dubai - Arada Developments, the largest developer in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, raised $100 million in Islamic bonds on Thursday in a reopening of a transaction that raised $350 million in May, a bank document showed.

The sukuk tap was priced at 99 cents on the dollar, yielding investors 8.386%, the document showed. The order book size was not disclosed.

The sukuk issued in May was sold at a profit rate of 8.125% and were trading to yield 8.49% at 1128 GMT, data from Refinitiv's Tradeweb showed.

The reopening deal comes as issuers in the Gulf, where bond sales have plummeted this year amid enduring volatility and rising rates, have pounced on windows of opportunity to issue in choppy markets. Saudi Arabia, for example, raised $5 billion on Tuesday.

Arada, in an investor presentation seen by Reuters for the tap, touted "proven support from government & regulatory authorities".

That included a government guarantee for a loan of up to $436 million, financing flexibility and "access to premium land allotment", the presentation said.

The company, which plans to launch its first project outside Sharjah in Dubai next year, made a 124 million dirham ($33.76 million) profit last year, according to a prospectus seen by Reuters.