| Kippreport.com

The approval was obtained at an extraordinary general assembly meeting on Saturday, the bourse statement said. Last month, Almarai had said it was planning a sukuk issue and was seeking shareholder approval.

Several Gulf-based firms have lined up to issue sukuk in the coming months lured by investor appetite and potentially cheaper costs than the conventional stream.

No timeframe or further details of the bond issuance were given. The company has plans to invest 4 billion riyals ($1.1 billion) in the poultry sector.

Almarai shares are down 18 percent year-to-date after ending 35 percent higher in the previous year. (Reporting by Dinesh Nair; Editing by Amran Abocar)