Saudi capital market ‘not large enough’ to support issuances: Al-Shelash

Saudi Arabia’s capital market is “not large enough” to support domestic sukuk issuances, Yousef Al-Shelash, chairman of Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co., said at the Euromoney Conference 2018 in Riyadh on Wednesday.

"Dar Al Arkan has only done one of 10 issuances in the domestic market,” he said. "Sukuk market is there, the banks support it - but more work needs to be done on wider market development.”

Meanwhile, the chairman noted that the real estate sector was the “best industry to be in for next 5-10 years.”

Dar Al-Arkan last month set up a new real estate firm to advise and provide brokerage services for international investors looking to enter the Saudi market.

The first branch will open in the capital city of Riyadh.