DUBAI: Shopping mall developer Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) is aiming to raise between $350 million and $500 million in a five-year dollar-denominated Islamic bond, or sukuk, by the end of November, a senior official said on Thursday. The company appointed HSBC and Standard Chartered to structure its planned sukuk program, sources told Reuters last month. "If we do go ahead, the target we have is between $350 million and $500 million," said Daniele Vecchi, senior vice president for treasury at MAF. "We plan to come up with something by the end of the month," he added. MAF, which is the sole franchisee for hypermarket chain Carrefour in the Gulf, completed roadshows for a conventional offering from its $2 billion medium term notes program in June but chose not to issue a bond because of unfavorable market conditions. The company's chief executive Iyad Malas has said part of the funds from the sukuk will be used to finance new investments, including a new mall in Egypt. The sukuk market has been relatively resilient during a global financial downturn that has dried up bond issuances. Goldman Sachs registered a $2 billion Islamic bond program earlier this month, providing further evidence of conventional borrowers looking to sharia-complaint funding sources.
