GE Capital, the finance arm of General Electric, has completed its inaugural sukuk offering of $500 million, tailored for investors across the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

The five-year sukuk had strong demand and makes GE Capital the first US corporate issuer of an Islamic bond. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

“GE Capital’s inaugural entry into the sukuk market aims to further complement and solidify GE’s fast growing presence across the Middle East and Asian regions,” stated Aris Kekedjian, vice president and managing director, GE Strategic Development, GE Capital.

“This transaction is strategically important for GE as it establishes yet another way of raising funds from an important investor base,” added GE’s senior vice president and treasurer Kathy Cassidy.

“We have been focused on diversifying our alternative funding sources to include global deposits and covered bonds, and transactions such as the sukuk allow us to make progress in meeting our objectives. We intend to be regular issuers in the sukuk market and are heartened by the support we have seen in this first transaction.”-TradeArabia News Service