Saudi's Alhokair completes 500 mln riyal debut sukuk issue

DUBAI - Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair has completed a 500 million riyal ($133 million), five-year sukuk issue, its first issue of an Islamic bond, the company said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

Alhokair, which franchises brands such as Zara and Marks and Spencer in the kingdom, did not give the pricing of the sukuk, which was sold in a private placement to investors in Saudi Arabia.

In late May, the company said it was also close to signing an agreement with a group of banks for a loan worth 1 billion riyals to repay existing loans and finance expansion.

Samba Financial Group's investment banking arm arranged the sukuk sale.