Jeddah, September 1- The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is to start its roadshow in Riyadh on Wednesday, September 2, to market its Sukuk among potential investors, said Mohamed Tariq, IDB Treasurer.

Riyadh kickoff will be the start of a 7-day roadshow covering seven countries which includes member countries of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Brueni and the United Arab Emirates and non-member countries of Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom which will be the last stop on September 8.

Though the offering will be for a minimum of US$500 million, the actual size of issuance will depend on the interest of investors and market conditions, while pricing will be benchmarked against other Multilateral Development Institutions.

Lead Managers of the issue are HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and the syndicate of Malaysia’s CIMB and Brunei Islamic Bank.

IDB is well supported by its 56 member countries and has a ‘AAA’ rating from the three top credit rating agencies. IDB plans to raise up to US$ 6 to 7 billion to help its member countries over the next 4-5 years to meet the challenges of the financial crisis. During its Annual Meeting in June in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, IDB decided to raise its financing commitments by 30 percent per annum over the next 3 years.