Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, GACA president, expressed happiness over the tremendous response to its debut Islamic bond or sukuk. GACA had offered sukuk worth SR15 billion to investors on Jan. 10, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Fahd said GACA has successfully completed the process of sukuk sale to help fund construction of the SR27.1 billion ($7.23 billion) new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.

“We have offered sukuk worth SR15 billion for sale and that was oversubscribed more than three times thanks to the tremendous response from the investment firms, banks, government organizations and leading companies in the Kingdom,” he said.

The GACA chief noted that the high turnout for buying the sukuk demonstrates increased investor confidence in the Kingdom’s economy.

The GACA officials held a meeting with investors on Jan. 10, ahead of issuing the sukuk, which is fully guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance. The transaction of the 10-year bond will carry a profit rate of 2.5 percent. HSBC Saudi Arabia had worked with GACA to structure the sukuk program.