NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Saudi Arabia’s SRC mulls SAR 1 billion Sukuk issuance by year-end Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), the Kingdom’s first mortgagerefinancing firm, plans to issue SAR 1 billion ($267 million) by the end of the year, reported Bloomberg. Fabrice Susini, the CEO of Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, said that the issuance by the state-run SRC would be its second this year and the company has not decided whether it will be a local or international offering. The company said that the Kingdom’s finance ministry will guarantee future Sukuk issuance, helping to lower funding costs and attract local as well as international investors. Saudi Arabia is making moves to increase home construction and lending as it seeks to overcome one of the world’s lowest mortgage penetration rates. For years, the absence of financing firms like SRC limited the ability of banks to expand their mortgage books amid central-bank limits on loans to any one sector.
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Saudi Aramco adds Barclays, BNP, Deutsche, UBS as bookrunners Saudi Arabia joins IMF’s SDDS standard for official statistics Saudi Arabia joined the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) for publishing government financial and economic data, according to local newswire, the Saudi Press Agency. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance, said that the subscription of the Kingdom to SDDS is an important step in the path taken by the Kingdom to enhance financial disclosure and transparency in accordance with international standards. The move is expected to contribute to the availability of real-time and comprehensive statistics leading to an increased level of data access to financial markets to help make investment decisions in the Kingdom. The subscription to SDDS will enhance investors’ confidence as the Kingdom is diversifying its economy away from reliance on oil as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform plan.
Saudi Aramco added banks including Barclays, BNP Paribas as well as Deutsche Bank and UBS Group as bookrunners on its planned initial public offering as it pushes ahead with plans for the blockbuster deal, reported Bloomberg. The energy giant also picked Credit Agricole, Gulf International Bank and Societe Generale. The state-owned energy giant plans to select around 15 bookrunners in total, including two Chinese firms. Saudi Aramco is moving fast to add banks in junior roles on the deal after choosing the top underwriters last week. Bankers from the newly appointed underwriters are flying to the Middle East for meetings with the company this week. The oil producer is still planning to add more local firms in junior roles on the offering. Aramco held kick-off meetings with the top banks in Dubai last week. Bank of America Corporation, Citigroup together with Credit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs Group as well as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley were chosen earlier for senior roles on the deal.
BANKER MIDDLE EAST | OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 223
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25/09/2019 15:48