Saudi Arabia starts marketing dollar sukuk, targets $2 billion

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has started marketing a US dollar-denominated sukuk, or Islamic bond with the issue expected to be around $2 billion in size, a document showed on Wednesday.

It would be the kingdom’s second international sale of sukuk after a $9 billion transaction last year.

The bonds, with a Mudaraba-Murabaha structure and an 11-year maturity, are being marketed with an initial price guidance of around 145 basis points over mid-swaps, the document showed.

SUKUK

Sukuk are Islamic bonds that are structured in a way to generate returns to investors. They are issued and traded in compliance with the principles of Shariah, which prohibits interest. The value of the bond is repaid at the end of the period and the buyer gets his/her invested money back.