Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Aramco has started on Tuesday issuing US dollar-denominated international sukuk or Islamic bonds. The sukuk offering, which is part of the Trust Certificate Issuance Program of the SA Global Sukuk Limited, will run through until October 2.

The value of the offering will be determined according to market conditions and investor demand at the time of the offering, Aramco said in a filing on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). The minimum subscription will be $200,000 with integrated multiples of $1,000 in excess of that amount, subject to market conditions.

The entities responsible for the issuance of sukuk include several leading financial institutions which serve as active bookrunners. They are Al Rajhi Capital, HSBC, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Standard Chartered Bank, KFH Capital, Goldman Sachs International, JP Morgan, and Citi. Saudi Aramco has mandated these institutions to organize a series of fixed income investor meetings commencing on 24 September, 2024.

Apart from the active bookrunners, a number of other financial firms have been named as inactive bookrunners. They are SMBC Nikko, Alinma Investment, Albilad Capital, MUFG, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, POCI Asia Limited, Emirates NBD Capital Limited, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Mizuho and Natixis.

Aramco clarified that the sukuk offerings will represent direct, unsubordinated, unsecured and limited recourse obligations of SA Global Sukuk Limited. The net proceeds will be used by Saudi Aramco for general corporate purposes. The offering of the trust certificates will be limited to qualified investors in the jurisdictions in which the offering will be made in accordance with the rules and regulations of such jurisdictions.

Trust certificates issuance will be subject to the approval of the official authorities. In addition, it will be issued in accordance with the Rule 144A/Reg S offering requirements under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The stabilization rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) will also apply to the issuance.

Application will be made for the trust certificates to be admitted to the official list of the FCA and to the London Stock Exchange plc and for such trust certificates to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market.

The target group of the issuance is, according to the disclosure, qualified institutional investors in the countries where the offering will take place, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations in those countries, Aramco revealed.