New Shari’ah-Compliant Fund to Finance Contender for World’s Tallest Tower

King & Spalding and its affiliated office in Riyadh, as primary fund counsel, advised Alinma Investment Company and Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) on the creation of a Shari’ah-compliant SAR8.4bn (US$2.23bn) fund
that will finance the completion of Jeddah Tower, which will be the world’s tallest tower, at over a kilometer high. The tower will include a Four Seasons Hotel, residences of different sizes and office spaces.

JEC is the developer and owner of the Jeddah Tower, now built to the 27th floor, as well as the 5.3 million-square-meter Jeddah Economic City project located in Obhur, just north of Jeddah on the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia.

The new fund, named Alinma Jeddah Economic City Real Estate Fund, is a Shari’ah-compliant fund operating in accordance with the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and relevant laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with an objective to finance the completion of Jeddah Tower and the development of the first phase of Jeddah Economic City project.

Alinma Bank will provide financing to the fund of SAR 3.6 billion (US$1bn), which will be the largest real estate financing in Saudi Arabia in 2015. Alinma Investment will manage the fund and JEC will serve as the master developer of the project.

The King & Spalding team on the fund matter was led by partner Nabil Issa and included partner-elect James Stull and associate Sayf Shuqair.