Stock - Mall of Emirates by Majid Al Futtaim
The developer of some of the Middle East's biggest shopping destinations, Majid Al Futtaim has been hitting the markets for funding linked to sustainability measures. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: The Dubai-headquartered mall and residential commuity developer, Majid Al Futtaim has raised a further $500 million sukuk to refinance an existing $800 million bond commitment. The latest debt uptake is through ‘green financing’ ways, and continuing a practice that the company introduced in May 2019.

The company has ‘demonstrated a prudent preference for sustainability-linked funding’, said a statement with a second green sukuk raised in October 2019 and followed by a $1.5 billion sustainability-linked loan in July 2021.

With the latter, Majid Al Futtaim became the first privately-owned Dubai corporation to borrow through such a facility. It continues to be the ‘region's only ‘penalty-only’ borrower’. (A second SLL was closed in September 2022 for $1.25 billion.)

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“The issuance of today’s green sukuk, is a testament of the global investment community’s continued confidence and robust support in our company, the sustainability of our debt portfolio and the inherent strength of our long-term strategic focus,” said Ahmed Galal Ismail, CEO at Majid Al Futtaim Holding.

Majid Al Futtaim in 2022 had group-wide revenues up 12 per cent to Dh36.3 billion, while EBITDA increased 4 per cent to Dh4.1 billion.

Setting decarbonisation targets
Majid Al Futtaim Group is on track to meet a ‘positive water and energy footprint by 2040’ and remove single-use plastic at all its operations by 2025.
It is one of the first private companies in the region committed to science-based targets (SBTs) to accelerate decarbonisation across its businesses.
The group's company's 'green-certified' properties span 4 million square meters.