January 2012

HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited led the very successful SAR 15 billion 10-year Sukuk issuance for the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). The funds from the Sukuk issuance will be used for the construction of the new King AbdulAziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Walid Khoury, CEO of HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, said: "We are extremely proud and honoured to be part of this historic transaction, that is globally the largest single-tranche Sukuk ever issued. Moreover, the transaction is fully Shari'ah compliant, guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance and approved by Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) for repo-ability. Our dedicated team worked closely with the General Authority of Civil Aviation to meet all of their requirements and helped in setting another benchmark in Sukuk issuance in the Kingdom".

Fahad Al-Saif, Director and Head of Debt Capital Markets at HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited said: "The GACA Sukuk issuance has conceptually set the new risk-free rate for the Saudi Arabian markets. We are always keen to help lead the development of Islamic financing industry and Saudi capital markets through innovative solutions such as this issuance. This transaction stresses our integrated Islamic and innovative financing solutions capabilities which HSBC is committed to deliver in Saudi Arabia".