Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom’s housing market will get a fresh stream of liquidity, with Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. announcing SR3.5 billion ($933 million) in sukuk issuances. 

The latest issuance of the SRC, owned by the Public Investment Fund, marked the sixth tranche under its upsized SR20 billion sukuk program. 

The real estate finance company will keep boosting market liquidity and assisting lenders and investors, which will stabilize the Saudi mortgage market, stated SRC CEO Fabrice Susini.   

Furthermore, this move will also speed up the rise of homeownership in the country, he added. 

“The positive response from investors to SRC’s latest sukuk issuance is a clear testament to the strength of the Kingdom’s housing market and economy,” Susini said.

“As SRC continues to refinance existing financings for financiers, we are proud to contribute to developing a robust secondary home financing market that supports the efficiency and stability of the primary housing market,” the CEO continued.   

Earlier this month, SRC received an “A-” classification at the level of global credit and “ksaAAA” at the level of local credit with a stable outlook from the credit rating agency S&P Global.   

According to the rating company, an obligatory rated “A-” falls under an upper-medium category, indicating strong creditworthiness and a good capacity to meet its financial commitments.   

On the other hand, a rating of “AAA” on the national scale means the debtor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation relative to other national debtors is extremely strong.   

According to the SRC website, the real estate financing company is rated “A-” stable by Fitch Ratings and “A2-” stable by Moody’s Investors Service. 
Founded in 2017 by the Kingdom’s PIF, SRC’s primary role is to provide banks and real estate finance companies with liquidity, enabling growth in the home financing sector to increase homeownership rates among Saudi citizens.