“United Pharmacies and The Saudi Awwal Bank Announce the First Off-Balance Sheet Islamic Digital Supply Chain Finance Deal

In a groundbreaking and unprecedented move in the Saudi market, United Pharmacies Group, one of the Kingdom’s leading pharmacy chains, has announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with The Saudi Awwal Bank to execute the first comprehensive Islamic-compliant, off-balance sheet digital supply chain finance transaction. This milestone represents a pivotal step in the digital transformation journey of the financial and pharmaceutical sectors in the Kingdom, aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The agreement aims to deliver advanced financing solutions that enable strategic suppliers of the pharmacy chain to benefit from fully automated, discounted early payment mechanisms. This enhances liquidity management and streamlines financial operations for all parties involved.

Commenting on the occasion, Khaled Yassin, CEO of United Pharmacies, stated
“We are proud to sign this agreement, which represents a strategic move towards enhancing our financial operations and strengthening our relationships with partners. This initiative will significantly improve our liquidity management, allowing us to increase operational efficiency and support our expansion plans with greater flexibility and effectiveness.”
He added:
“At United Pharmaceuticals, we continue to focus on financial innovation as a means to drive growth and deliver added value to both our supply chain partners and our customers alike.”

Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab, CFO of United Pharmacies, also commented
“This agreement offers innovative financial solutions that help reduce operational complexities, enhance the efficiency of payment processes, and enable effective working capital management. We are pleased with this partnership with The Saudi Awwal Bank, which reflects our ongoing commitment to financial innovation and supports our continuous efforts to deliver real value to our suppliers and customers.”

For his part, Yasser Al-Barrak, Chief Executive Officer of Corporate and Institutional Banking at The Saudi Awwal Bank, stated:
“We are delighted to be at the forefront of providing innovative, Shariah-compliant solutions that meet the needs of our clients. This transaction demonstrates our firm commitment to strengthening the Kingdom’s financial ecosystem in line with Vision 2030, and to supporting national companies in their journey toward expansion and leadership.”

Al-Barrak further added
“The integration of advanced technology with Islamic finance solutions represents a significant step toward empowering businesses and driving economic growth in the Kingdom. We are proud to have developed our digital supply chain platform to offer automated discounting solutions that efficiently support both Islamic and conventional operations.”

This initiative comes as The Saudi Awwal Bank continues to enhance its digital supply chain platform, adding new features that allow corporate partners to easily upload payment files, benefit from fully automated registration and approval processes, and directly generate Shariah-compliant sales contracts.