A fintech start-up has gained a license from the Saudi regulator to design, launch and operate a digital platform facilitating offering and investment in debt instruments in a controlled environment.
With a Financial Technology Experimental Permit (FinTech ExPermit) by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), Sukuk Capital Company would be allowed to test its platform in Saudi Arabia. The start-up is targeting SMEs with its solution which would enable businesses in the Kingdom to raise capital through the offering of Sukuk while serving as an avenue to attract collective investments.
Sukuk Capital Company is one of several start-ups which have received the greenlight from the regulator to operate similar business models. Wethaq Capital Markets earlier this year also received a FinTech ExPermit to launch a platform which would support the issuance, administration and distribution of Sukuk. Wethaq expects to float its first Sukuk on the blockchain platform this year.
Concurrently, the CMA also extended a FinTech ExPermit to Osool & Bakheet Investment Company to establish an equity crowdfunding platform. While it is not immediately clear if the platform would be Shariah compliant, it is understood that most if not all of the fintech solutions to be approved by the CMA would meet the needs of Muslim investors and clients.
These two licenses are part of the third batch for the FinTech ExPermit announced late last year. The regulator opened applications for the fourth cohort on the 1st October 2020.