Siraj Capital, a merchant investment company regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority with offices in Dubai and Jeddah, has announced plans to launch its first major sukuk to be based on Canadian assets.

'The Bear Mountain Resort' sukuk is the first major corporate sukuk of 2009 from a first time issuer, and in a country (Canada) that has not yet seen a major sukuk, a rated sukuk or a sukuk that has attracted international investment interest, said a company official at the recently concluded London Sukuk Summit.

The Bear Mountain sukuk will raise approximately $350 million for the expansion and further development of the Bear Mountain Resort on Vancouver Island in Victoria, Canada, said Siraj Capitals CEO, Ibrahim Mardam-Bey.

Bey told the summit that he expected the Bear Mountain sukuk to close in mid-October shortly after the end of Ramadan. He stated that it would mark the true beginning of sukuk as an asset class in North America as Siraj Capital has a pipeline of deals in the US and Canada.

Bear Mountain (www.bearmountain.ca) is the only resort in Canada with 36 holes of Nicklaus Design golf. It has consistently been ranked as one of the top resorts in Canada and some of its tees are the most spectacular vistas in all of golf.

Siraj Capital is committed to the expansion of the Islamic Finance industry by providing international best in class practice and service in its Islamic debt capital markets, private equity and business development groups, he added.-TradeArabia News Service