Norton Rose Fulbright advises on landmark approval of Sukuk public offering in Saudi Arabia

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Rawasi Al Bina Investment Company (Rawasi Al Bina) on the approval it has received by the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) to establish a SAR500 million Sukuk Issuance Programme and the offering of Sukuk under the programme on a "public offer" basis to investors in the Kingdom.

Rawasi Al Bina is a leading Saudi Exchange listed company which is active in the telecommunications sector in the Kingdom. The approval represents the first ever public offer of Sukuk approved by the CMA under landmark changes to the Rules on the Offer of Securities and Continuing Obligations (OSCO Rules), which came into effect recently and seek to significantly streamline public offerings of debt instruments in the Kingdom.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising on the transaction was led by partner Hamed Afzal and included senior associates Yousef Al Amly, Faisal Aldhayaan and Michael Stevens, associate Amira Nassar and trainee solicitor Michael Wilson.

Hamed said:

"We were delighted to be able to assist our client with this precedent-setting transaction, which marks the first public offer of Sukuk to be approved following the recent changes to the OSCO Rules by the CMA, allowing for the more streamlined issuance of publicly offered debt instruments. The transaction highlights the continued growth of capital markets in the Kingdom and we are delighted to be at the forefront of efforts to deepen and evolve the market further in the context of Vision 2030."

Norton Rose Fulbright's capital markets team in the Middle East cover the full range of equity and debt capital markets matters. This transaction comes off the back of the team being named Capital Markets Team of the Year by Islamic Finance News last year, winning Restructuring Deal of the Year for the upcoming Global Banking & Markets Saudi Arabia Awards 2025 for its role on Arkad Engineering & Construction Company's SAR 2.86 billion perpetual Sukuk and advising on the first ever Additional Tier 1 Sukuk issued by a non-bank financial institution in the Kingdom.