Saudi Real Estate Refinancing Co. Issues $933 Million in Sukuk

Saudi Arabia’s housing project is part of government’s plans to raise the rate of citizens’ real estate ownership. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia’s housing project is part of government’s plans to raise the rate of citizens’ real estate ownership. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Real Estate Refinancing Co. Issues $933 Million in Sukuk

Saudi Arabia’s housing project is part of government’s plans to raise the rate of citizens’ real estate ownership. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia’s housing project is part of government’s plans to raise the rate of citizens’ real estate ownership. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. announced the issuance of SR3.5 billion ($933 million) in sukuk, within the local sukuk program that amounts to SR20 billion ($5.3 billion).

CEO Fabrice Susini said the real estate finance company would keep boosting market liquidity and assisting lenders and investors, which would stabilize the Saudi mortgage market.

“The positive response from investors to SRC’s latest sukuk issuance is a clear testament to the strength of the Kingdom’s housing market and economy,” he remarked.

Susini continued: “As SRC continues to refinance existing financings for financiers, we are proud to contribute to developing a robust secondary home financing market that supports the efficiency and stability of the primary housing market.”

Majed Al-Hogail, Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, said real estate financing in the country exceeded $194 billion until the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Earlier this month, SRC received an “A-” classification at the level of global credit and “ksaAAA” at the level of local credit with a stable outlook from the credit rating agency S&P Global.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) established the SRC in 2017 to be a major pillar and catalyst for the growth and sustainability of residential real estate financing in the country.

SRC’s primary role is to provide banks and real estate finance companies with liquidity, enabling growth in the home financing sector to increase homeownership rates among Saudi citizens.

The SRC stated that it contributed to raising the percentage of citizens’ home ownership from 47 to 60 percent. Since its establishment in 2017, the company has witnessed strong growth in its business and partnerships in the real estate financing sector, as part of the various initiatives and programs within the objectives of Vision 2030.



Egypt's Net Foreign Assets Jump in January

A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Net Foreign Assets Jump in January

A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)

Egypt's net foreign assets (NFAs) jumped by $2.74 billion in January, boosted apparently by the sale of $2 billion in dollar-denominated bonds, central bank data showed.

NFAs climbed to the equivalent of $8.70 billion from $5.96 billion at the end of December, according to Reuters calculations based on the official central bank currency rates. The increase followed three months of decline late last year, Reuters said.

Egypt completed the sale of $2 billion in international bonds on January 29 in its first dollar-denominated international bond issuance in four years.

Egypt had been using NFAs, which include foreign assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help to prop up its currency since as long ago as September 2021. NFAs turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May last year.

Egypt needed to pay dollars in December as Egyptian pound treasury bills held by foreign investors matured and nearly $1 billion in IMF loan repayments and payments for natural gas imports came due, bankers, brokers and analysts said.

Foreign assets increased in January at both the central bank and commercial banks, but foreign liabilities rose at both as well.