Saudi Real Estate Refinance looks to debut dollar sukuk in Q2

Saudi Real Estate Refinance looks to debut dollar sukuk in Q2

DUBA: The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co., the kingdom's equivalent of US mortgage finance business Fannie Mae, plans to issue debut dollar-denominated sukuk between the end of the first and second quarters of this year, its chief executive said. The company, a regular issuer of local currency Islamic bonds, initially aimed to issue its inaugural dollar sukuk last year. SRC, owned by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, is working to help Saudi Arabia reach its goal of boosting Saudi home ownership to 70 percent as part of Vision 2030 reforms to reduce the economy's reliance on oil. Some of the documentation for the dollar issuance "needed to be revamped, readjusted with some discussions with some of our stakeholders," SRC CEO Fabrice Susini told Reuters, without giving details. SRC will raise at least $500 million, Susini said. JPMorgan, Societe Generale, GIB, HSBC and Islamic Development Bank, which set up the dollar issuance programme, will arrange the debt sale, he added. "We were a bit lucky ... not having to issue internationally" last year, he said, as the US Federal Reserve hiked rates at a rapid clip to tame decades-high inflation, with the Saudi Central Bank closely mirroring the moves despite lower