London – Estithmar Holding celebrated this morning the listing of its first Sukuk in Qatari Riyals on London Stock Exchange, at the Stock Exchange’s headquarters. This is the first time that London Stock Exchange has witnessed listing in Qatari riyals.

 The market open ceremony for the listing of Estithmar Holding Sukuks was attended by Eng. Mohammed bin Bader Al-Sada, Group CEO of Estithmar Holding, in addition to key executives from the company, Mr. Shrey Kohli, Head of Debt Capital Markets and Issuer Services in London Stock Exchange, members of the LSE team, and a group of media representatives.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the joint lead managers of the issuance and Qatari financial institutions; Mr. Mohammed Ismail Al-Emadi, CEO of Lisha Bank, Mr. Ahmed Hashem, acting CEO of Dukhan Bank, Mr. Akber Khan, acting CEO of Al Rayan Investment and Mr. Haithem Katerji, CEO of The First Investor. The ceremony was attended also by Mr. Charbel AbuCharaf, Managing Partner, White and Case Qatar in addition to representatives of legal and consultancy firms.

Estithmar Holding recently announced its successful issuance of the first corporate Sukuk denominated in Qatari Riyals, worth QAR 500 million, with an annual profit rate of 8.75%. This issuance is the inaugural tranche of Estithmar Holding’s QAR 3.4 billion Sukuk program which earned great interest from investors and governmental and non-governmental institutions. The list of investors included banks, insurance companies, and asset management companies.

Commenting on the event, Eng. Mohammed bin Badr Al-Sada, CEO of Estihtmar Holding, highlighted the significance of the listing to the Qatari economy, “This issuance demonstrates confidence in Qatar's robust economy and highlights the ability of the Qatari private sector to expand both domestically and internationally, with support from government initiatives that create a seamless environment where companies can develop and thrive.”.

Al-Sada also pointed out the importance of the issuance as a milestone for the company: “Today Estithmar Holding operates in 7 countries across four sectors and the  Sukuk program we have listed on the London Stock Exchange is a key component of our growth strategy and will facilitate further expansion and value creation.”.