ALDAR signs AED 2,203,800,000 Ijara Facility.

Properties PJSC, the renowned Abu Dhabi-based property developer, announced today a AED 2.203 billion (US$ 600 million) Ijara facility, has been put in place for the company.

The Ijara facility is equally financed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi National Islamic Finance (a subsidiary of National Bank of Abu Dhabi), Badr Al-Islami (the Islamic Banking Division of Mashreq bank psc), Dubai Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank and Noor Islamic Bank.

Dubai Islamic Bank (represented by its investment banking arm, Millennium Capital Limited, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority "DFSA") acted as structuring and documentation agent for the transaction, while National Bank of Abu Dhabi acted as security agent. Allen and Overy advised ALDAR on the transaction while Clifford Chance LLP acted as the banks' counsel.

"The success of this transaction, particularly given the challenging global financial environment, is an important endorsement of ALDAR's track record. We are grateful to each of the participating banks for their support and we are proud to have Islamic finance contributing to our business model," said Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Chairman of ALDAR.

Further commenting on the announcement, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, said: "The successful close of this Ijara facility has again shown ALDAR to be a reputable, trustworthy and sophisticated company in its approach to the debt markets."

The transaction has been approved by the Shariah Supervisory Boards of the lead arrangers, making it fully compliant with the principles of Islamic finance. The facility has a four year tenor and will be used for general corporate purposes in support of ALDAR's business plan and growth model.

Today's announcement comes just a few days after Moody's Investors Service assigned long term local and foreign currency issuer ratings of A3 to ALDAR. Moody's, a leading provider of independent credit ratings, research and financial information to the capital markets, has described the outlook for ALDAR as stable. "ALDAR's ratings are supported by its leading market position within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, whose real estate market is bolstered by a combination of strong demographic growth and a growing domestic economy. Ratings also benefit from the company's intention to build a significant rental property portfolio, which will ultimately support a stable and predictable income stream over the medium to long term," it said.

In February this year, the company won awards for its shariah compliant financing, scooping 'Best Mudarabah Deal' and 'Best Real Estate Deal' from Islamic Finance News (IFN) as well as 'Sukuk Issue of the Year' from EuroWeek magazine. Prior to today's announcement, ALDAR had already secured funding in excess of AED 34 billion (US$9.2 billion) to undertake the development projects through convertible bonds (sukuk), capital debt instruments and bilateral debt facilities.

ALDAR Properties has announced developments worth more than US$65 billion since its launch in 2005 including Central Market, Al Raha Beach, Coconut Island, Noor Al Ain, Al Gurm Resort, as well as the YAS Island project which includes a Warner Bros and a Ferrari theme park. ALDAR has the largest land bank in Abu Dhabi comprising over 34 million square meters, 100% earmarked for specific developments valued at AED 44.2 billion (US$12 billion) as at 31 December 2007. The company is one of the largest UAE-listed property developers by market value and was the first Middle Eastern company to list a sukuk on the London Stock Exchange.

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)