DUBAI, July 11 (Reuters) – Saudi Binladin Group, one of the largest construction firms in the kingdom, has completed a 1-billion-riyal ($266.7 million) Islamic bond sale, two bankers familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The transaction, structured as a sukuk al-murabaha, has a one-year lifespan and pays a profit rate of 2.5 percent, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to talk to the press.

A murabaha is a sharia-compliant cost-plus-profit arrangement.

Binladin Group was not immediately available for comment.

Sources said last month that BNP Paribas and the investment banking arm of Gulf International Bank were marketing a deal for Binladin Group to Saudi investors, with proceeds to be used to fund its projects.

The Islamic bond was sold to a wide range of investor types including financial institutions, asset managers and insurance funds among others, one of the bankers said.

The sukuk sale is the fourth carrying a 364-day tenor. The last, a 1 billion riyal ($266.7 million) offering, was completed in August, with previous deals in July 2010 and July 2011.

Binladin Group has already completed one, longer-dated local currency sukuk in 2013. It priced the 1.3-billion-riyal Islamic bond with a 2.5-year lifespan, arranged by the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi , in April.

($1 = 3.7502 Saudi riyals)

(Reporting by David French; additional reporting by Marwa Rashad in Riyadh; editing by Dinesh Nair and Tom Pfeiffer)

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