Dubai – Mubasher: Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company announced ringing the market bell to celebrate the listing of a $500 million sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, the Saudi company’s chairman Yousef Bin Abdullah Al-Shelash said on Wednesday.

This will provide strong support for Dar Al-Arkan’s capital-raising strategy as it gears up for further property development activities across the Kingdom, including commercial real estate and integrated residential communities, Al-Shelash added.

The sukuk issue was two times oversubscribed and received significant interest from international and regional market participants, according to a statement.

The total value of Dar Al-Arkan’s sukuk currently listed on the region’s international exchange amounts to $1.35 billion, including two listings in May 2014 totalling $850 million.

“The substantial demand shown for our latest sukuk underlines the confidence that investors have in our company and its plans for further development in commercial and residential projects. Our listing on Nasdaq Dubai…provides us with excellent visibility to investors across the Middle East and around the world,” Al-Shelash said.

The bell ceremony was attended by Essa Kazim, governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), secretary general of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), and chairman of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), as well as senior representatives from Dar Al-Arkan, Nasdaq Dubai chairman Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, and Nasdaq Dubai’s CEO Hamed Ali.

Kazim commented that the listing by “a prominent Riyadh-based real estate developer further strengthens the close capital markets ties between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which benefit economic development in the GCC.”

He added that Dar Al-Arkan’s choice of Dubai as a listing venue is an additional step in the emirate’s growth “as the global Capital of Islamic Economy under the initiative launched in 2013” by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

Dar Al-Arkan listed its $500 million sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai on Monday, 17 April 2017. Accordingly, Dubai’s sukuk listings have now reached a total value of $53.81 billion, which is considered the highest amount of any listing venue in the world, according to the statement.

“As Dubai strengthens its role as the global centre for sukuk in terms of advisory know-how and depth of professional expertise…the exchange will reinforce its role as a focal point for Sharia-compliant capital-raising. We will maintain our strategy of attracting high quality issuers of sukuk and other Islamic asset classes, as well as promoting best practices in Islamic markets,” said Al Fahim.