Saudi Arabia's massive industrialization drive will increasingly rely on Islamic financing, said the treasurer of the country's national oil company, as international banks are constrained from investing in projects in the region.
Saudi Aramco - the world's largest oil company - has taken on many of the petrochemical and refining projects intended to diversify the national economy away from oil and provide jobs for Saudis.
Satorp, a Saudi Aramco petrochemical joint venture with France's Total, in 2011 launched a Sharia-compliant bond to fund the construction of a refinery.
"We expect the successful launch of the kingdom's first Greenfield project sukuk will provide a new financing alternative and open the doors for a whole new class of investors," said Jamal Al Rammah, Saudi Aramco's treasurer, at a Meed conference in Dubai yesterday. "This is of great significance, particularly as international bank lending is still tight."
The National
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