* Majed Al Khalidi from Riyadh
Four companies listed on the Saudi market have issued Islamic bonds worth 13.87 billion riyals ($ 3.7 billion) since the beginning of this year through five issues.
According to an analysis of the unit of reports in the newspaper "AlEqtisadiah" based on data of companies listed on the Saudi stock market, these issues were distributed between the international and domestic markets with the share of international markets that amounted to 67.6 per cent, equivalent to 9.37 billion riyals.
While the local market was accounted for 32.4 percent, equivalent to 4.5 billion riyals.
The Sukuk issue aims to increase the ability to expand business, improve maturities and continue to diversify funding sources, as expressed by companies in their financial reports.
Separately, Saudi Electricity Company issued an international Islamic Sukuk worth 7.5 billion riyals in September, which accounted for 52 per cent of the total issued Sukuk.
The issuance was made through two tranches of the first about 3 billion riyals and the second about 4.5 billion riyals. The first is going to be deserved after five years and four months, while the latter is going to be deserved after ten years later, in order to finance the company's projects.
Secondly, in terms of proportion, Saudi Arabian Mining Company "Ma'aden" dissolved local Islamic bonds worth 3.5 billion riyals, accounting for 25.2 per cent of the total.
The proposal, which took place during the month of March, is including its subsidiary "Ma'aden Phosphate" as a replacement of part of an existing debt.
Thirdly, Dar Al Arkan, which issued Islamic bonds worth 1.87 billion riyals, formed 13.5 per cent of the sukuk for five years and an annual interest of 6.87 per cent, through international and regional markets.
Finally, the Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) launched secondary bonds worth SR 1 billion through a private placement during March that to support the Bank's capital base and raise capital adequacy as well as diversification of sources of finance, as it constituted 7.2% of total issued Sukuk.
