DUBAI  - Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co (SRC), modelled on U.S. mortgage finance firm Fannie Mae, said on Tuesday it will obtain from the Ministry of Finance sovereign guarantees on its planned issues of sukuk, or Islamic bonds.

SRC, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund, plans to issue 4 billion riyals ($1.07 billion) in sukuk this year, the firm's chief executive told Reuters last month.

The bond issuance comes amid plans to purchase more home loan portfolios from mortgage financing companies and banks to boost the kingdom's secondary mortgage market.

In March, SRC completed a 750 million riyal sukuk issue with multiple tenors, under a programme that allows it to issue up to 11 billion riyals of local currency denominated Islamic bonds.

 

($1 = 3.7501 riyals)

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif and Hadeel Al Sayegh, writing by Davide Barbuscia) ((Davide.Barbuscia@thomsonreuters.com; +971522604297; Reuters Messaging: davide.barbuscia.reuters.com@reuters.net))