Almarai Co., Saudi Arabia’s largest food producer by market value, may set up its first Islamic bond program by early 2012 as it seeks financing for expansion.
The riyal-denominated sukuk would be available only to the local market and would help finance an “ambitious capital expenditure development plan and working capital needs,” Chief Financial Officer Paul-Louis Gay said in an e-mailed response to questions today. The size of the program is “not clearly defined yet,” he said. The Riyadh-based company plans to set up the program by the end of this year or early next year.
Sukuk sales in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, declined to $3.73 billion so far this year from $3.97 billion a year earlier. Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Co., a venture between Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Total SA, sold 3.75 billion riyals ($1 billion) of Islamic bonds earlier this month.
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