#Dubai’s Samana Plans Sukuk, IPO as Property Boom Spurs Deals - Bloomberg

Dubai’s Samana Plans Sukuk, IPO as Property Boom Spurs Deals - Bloomberg

Dubai’s Samana Developers plans to tap Islamic debt markets for the first time, joining a growing list of real estate firms seeking to capitalize on the emirate’s longest running property boom.

Samana intends to issue a sukuk of around $300 million by the end of the first quarter of next year, Chief Executive Imran Farooq said in an interview.

The proceeds will be used to acquire land in prime and waterfront locations to enable the developer to expand its pipeline of ultra luxury homes. The firm is working with Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered on the planned sale, the chairman said. Another bank might be added, he said.

Samana would join peers such as Binghatti Holding Ltd. and Omniyat, which have entered international debt markets in recent years amid a property rally that pushed home prices up by more than 70% since 2019, according to JLL. More established issuers including Damac Properties, Arada Developments and Sobha Realty have also tapped the sukuk market this year.

Samana is on track to end the year with 7.1 billion dirhams ($1.9 billion) of sales, out-pacing its 2024 sales of 5.1 billion dirhams, Farooq said. The surge has been powered by a steady stream of European investors along with more regional buyers from Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, he said.

Samana is currently seeking approvals to build 1,100 apartments on The World Islands, Farooq said. The developer owns six islands in the man-made archipelago shaped as a map of the world off Dubai’s coast. The firm, which estimates it has a market share of around 4% in Dubai, has raised prices by 3% this year compared with 11% in 2024 amid rising competition among developers who are pouring more supply into the market.

Samana is also considering a listing on the Dubai stock exchange.

Farooq said Samana would be looking to sell a 15% to 25% stake in an initial public offering by the end of 2026 depending on investor appetite and market conditions at that time. It’s a move that would make it one of the latest private developers to explore public markets amid heightened investor appetite for Dubai real estate. Binghatti has also hired banks for an initial public offering, Bloomberg News has reported.

The property rally has meant that “most developers are doing extremely well with their sales and the market is quite liquid,” he said. “Most are raising money to expand, except for the odd developer with legacy issues,” Farooq added.

Beyond public markets, UAE developers are increasingly turning to private credit to fund projects. Omniyat, a developer of ultra-luxury apartments, previously secured a $100 million loan from Nomura Holdings Inc. for one of its projects in Dubai, Bloomberg News reported in January.