The largest ever government guaranteed sukuk in Saudi Arabia for the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) totaled SR15.211 billion ($4.056 billion), representing a 3.21 percent profit per annum. HSBC and NCB Capital acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners of the sukuk. Additionally, HSBC acted as the Sukuk Coordinator, Sole Shariah Coordinator, Sukuk Holders' Agent, and Payment Administration Agent. Standard Chartered Saudi Arabia was Co-Lead Manager for the Issuance. Walid Khoury, CEO of HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, said: “This is the second great achievement for GACA, and stands as a testament of the confidence local investors have in this high quality name. Not only did it raise SR15.211 billion for the authority, but it's done so at an attractive profit rate of 3.21 percent p.a. with a diverse set of investors participating" Jawdat Al Halabi, CEO of NCB Capital, said “we are honored to have jointly led this strategic transaction in support of the government's plans to expand the Kingdom's infrastructure. The sukuk market, both globally and in KSA has been gaining momentum in recent years and we see this trend continuing and reflected in the huge demand by investors for this issue”. The deal was 1.9 times oversubscribed with strong demand from a wide range of investors including banks, sovereign funds, pension agencies, insurance companies and corporates. This diversity of investors means that any subsequent issuance won't be over reliant on any one sector and GACA could tap into a ready investor base. This sheer scale of the demand and the eventual pricing demonstrates the confidence buyers have in both the region and its government. Fahad Alsaif, Head of Capital Markets & Corporate Finance, HSBC Saudi Arabia, added: “Many sukuk of this size are issued in multiple tranches, with different prices and dates of maturity. However, this sukuk has been launched as one single issuance, and in doing so has become the largest single-tranche sukuk ever issued in Saudi Arabia.” — SG
