IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world's biggest petrochemicals group, will issue a sukuk late this year or next year to fund coming projects. SABIC has 40 billion riyals ($10.7 billion) worth of projects over the next few years and the company prefers to fund these with sukuk. Its Chief Financial Officer Mutlaq al-Morished said the timing of the sukuk would depend upon both the development of the projects and conditions in financial markets. It is too early to give the size of the sukuk, he added.

Saudi's Alinma Bank and the Saudi arm of Tokio Marine have signed an agreement to set up an insurance firm with a capital of 200 million riyals ($53 million).
In the statement there was said that Saudi Basic Industries Corp will hold a 5 percent stake in the insurance firm which will float a 30 percent stake in an initial public offering after regulatory approval.

Saudi based Alinma Bank said that it would grant a $1bn credit facility to SABIC, plugging a financial gap at the petrochemical group. SABIC Chief Executive Mohamed al Mady declined to comment while Chief Financial Officer Mutlaq al Morished could not immediately be reached for comment. Alinma said Morished signed the agreement on behalf of SABIC. Ratings agency Moody's assigned the planned bond an A+ rating and said it understood it would be used to refinance or repay debt at SABIC Innovative Plastics Holding, the renamed GE Plastics.