PIF eyes $3.5bn in debut sale of dollar-denominated sukuk

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to raise $3.5 billion in its first sale of dollar-denominated Shariah-compliant sukuk, said an official statement issued on Thursday.

The wealth fund is offering the Islamic bonds with tenors of five and 10 years and the issuance will be listed on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.

“The sukuk issuance was more than seven times oversubscribed, with orders exceeding $25 billion, reflecting investor confidence in PIF,” the statement said.

The total issuance of the Shariah-compliant bonds consists of two tranches. The first tranche has a size of $2.25 billion maturing in 2028 and the second is $1.25 billion with its maturity set in 2033.

Fahad Al-Saif, head of PIF’s Global Capital Finance Division, said: “This inaugural international sukuk issuance is another milestone for PIF’s medium-term capital raising strategy and a continuation of our efforts to diversify our funding sources.”

Proceeds from the issuance will be used by wealth fund for its general corporate purposes. Loans and debt instruments represent one of PIF’s sources of funding. Other sources include retained earnings from investments, capital injections from the government and government assets transferred to PIF.

According to the statement, the sukuk was issued pursuant to PIF’s newly established international trust certificate issuance program. It follows its two issuances of green bonds, under PIF’s medium-term capital raising strategy, amounting in aggregate to $8.5 billion, including the first-ever century green bond and the first ever green bond issued by a sovereign wealth fund, as well as a $17 billion corporate loan in 2022, as part of PIF’s strategy to diversify its funding sources.