New Saudi mortgage market should be sukuk-based, says expert

THE best Islamic Finance principle to base the much-awaited Saudi mortgage law should be sukuk-based with a Shariah-compliant set of guidelines, Giambattista Atzeni, vice president and MENA business manager for corporate trust and a member of the steering committee of the Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association at BNY Mellon Corporate Trust in Dubai told Arab News.
A shortage of housing and rising land costs, according to a report released this month by CB Ellis states that the prices of housing are rising.
The report also confirmed in Jeddah alone there is a shortage of 300,000 dwellings.
Currently the debate on when the law will finally be introduced has been shelved until after the holy month of Ramadan.
In a previous interview with Arab News, Muhammed Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the Shoura Council has said that some of its members needed more time to discuss the proposed mortgage law concerning the country’s economy and this is why it has been delayed.