Saudi Aramco completes issuance of $6 bln international sukuk, orders crossed $60 bln

Logo of Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) completed the issuance of $6 billion Shariah-compliant securities under its international sukuk program.

In a statement to Tadawul today, June 17, the company explained the details of the issuance, which is as follows.

The terms of redemption include dissolution on maturity (scheduled dissolution date); redemption following a dissolution event; early dissolution upon a tax event (at the option of Aramco); clean-up dissolution right (at the option of Aramco); dissolution upon a total loss event; tangibility event put right (at the option of certificate holders); optional dissolution right (at the option of Saudi Aramco), certificate holder put right (at the option of certificate holders), change of control put right (at the option of certificate holders), to be determined subject to market conditions.

The trust certificates will be issued under the Rule 144A/Reg S offering requirements under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The stabilization rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) will apply to the issuance.

An application will be made for the trust certificates to be admitted to the official list of the FCA and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), along with the certificates to be listed for trading on LSE's main market.

“We are delighted with the strong reception for our inaugural international sukuk offering that led to the largest order book ever recorded globally for a dollar-denominated sukuk transaction, with orders exceeding $60 billion,” Khalid Al-Dabbagh, Senior Vice President of Finance, Strategy and Development, Aramco, said in a company statement.

The success of the transaction is a strong endorsement from the global investment community of Aramco’s leading position in the industry, and its ability to deliver on long-term business strategy, he said, adding the issuance attracted more than 100 new investors across the globe.

The transaction settled on June 17, with the sukuk admitted to the official list of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority for trading on the LSE’s main market.