Jafza picks banks for sukuk roadshow

Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) has picked seven banks to arrange a series of investor meetings, with a possible Islamic bond, or sukuk, transaction to follow, lead managers said on Friday. The firm, fully-owned by the Dubai government, mandated Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered to arrange the roadshows, a document from the banks said. The investor meeting will begin on June 5 and take place in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and a benchmark-sized sukuk will be issued subject to market conditions. Benchmark-sized is understood to mean at least $500 million.