AJIL issues SR 500 m sukuk in Saudi Arabia

AJIL Financial Services Company CJSC has successfully issued its first off-balance sheet sukuk in Saudi Arabia for SR 500 million yesterday. The inaugural sukuk was priced at 3-month SAIBOR plus 80 basis points with an issue price at par.
The sukuk is issued by AJIL Cayman, a limited liability special purpose company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The sukuk holders will also benefit from a purchase undertaking issued by Gulf International Bank BSC and Riyad Bank, the first time such a credit enhanced structure has been employed in the Saudi domestic capital markets.
GIB Capital and Riyad Capital acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners to the issuance, while Riyad Capital also acted as the coordinator of the transaction.
Commenting on this inaugural sukuk, Usman Mahmood, CEO of AJIL Financial Services Company, said: "We are delighted to have closed our inaugural sukuk at the finest pricing level achieved by a non-governmental issuer since 2008. The level of oversubscription is also testament to investors' support of AJIL and the credit quality of the structure. This issue represents an innovative off-balance sheet sukuk based on the sale of sukuk assets incorporating a credit-wrapped structure."