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.



Libya Announces First Bidding Round for Oil Exploration in 17 Years

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
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Libya Announces First Bidding Round for Oil Exploration in 17 Years

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)

Libya plans its first bidding round for oil exploration in more than 17 years, Masoud Suleman, acting Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced in a televised address on Monday.

Libya is Africa's second-largest oil producer and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Foreign investors have been wary of putting money into Libya, which has been in a state of chaos since the overthrow of Moammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. Disputes between armed rival factions over oil revenues have often led to oilfields shutdowns.

In August, Libya lost more than half of its oil production, about 700,000 bpd, and exports were halted at several ports as a standoff between rival political factions over the central bank threatened to end four years of relative peace.

The shutdowns lasted for over a month with production gradually resuming from early October.

That did not stop major oil companies Eni, OMV, BP, and Repsol from resuming exploration activities in Libya last year after halting them for a decade. Italy's Eni had already signed in 2023 an $8 billion gas production deal with Libya's state-oil National Oil Corporation (NOC).

In January, Libya's acting oil minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, told Reuters the country needed between $3 billion and $4 billion to reach output of 1.6 million bpd.

The country's current crude production has reached over 1.4 million bpd, about 200,000 bpd short of its pre-civil war high, according to NOC.

Libya is exempt from OPEC+ agreements to limit output.