UAE-based Shuaa Capital has completed the issuance and private placement of a $135m (SR506m) dollar-denominated five-year sukuk for Saudi Arabia’s Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC).

Shuaa acted as the sole arranger for the sukuk, which was originally issued in the second half of 2018.

Shuaa says the sukuk is a good financing option for real estate developers such as JODC.

“Sukuks represent an ideal financing mechanism for the long-term funding requirements of real estate, as reflected by the dominance of the sector in issuing sukuks over the past 18 months in the region," says Shuaa's CEO Fawad Tariq-Khan. "In line with our growing role in both the Saudi financial and real estate markets, Shuaa Capital’s combination of expertise therefore made us the natural partner for Jabal Omar Development Company and we are delighted to support its successful sukuk issuance.”

Sukuk issuances raised $97.79bn globally in 2017, up 45 per cent compared with 2016. In Saudi Arabia, $26bn was raised using sukuks in 2017.

JODC is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and is developing a 2 million square-metre mixed-use development within walking distance of The Grand Mosque in Mecca.