National Real Estate Company (NREC) plans to issue a USD500mn sukuk early next year to help fund new projects and to refinance existing debt, its CFO Shiv Hiremath told Reuters on Monday. The company is about to obtain a credit rating from Standard& Poor's and will then seek to appoint banks to arrange the planned Islamic bond issue, Hiremath further stated. The sukuk will have a seven-year maturity, and while the exact timing of the sale would depend on market conditions, the company would like to raise the financing in the 1Q17. NREC is also raising a USD654mn loan for the development of the Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi that it is currently building with a total cost of USD1bn. The company is arranging the deal itself with a club of banks, with the seven-year facility expected to be completed by the end of November 2016, according to Hiremath. (Arabian Business)