Bank of Sharjah successfully priced a US$ 500 million senior unsecured bond in the international markets. The issuance received tremendous response from international investors, attracting orders that peaked at US$ 1.4 billion, or almost 3x oversubscription.
The bonds have a tenor of five years from the date of issuance, with a coupon of 5.25% per annum. Following marketing activity that included global investor calls and a physical roadshow in Dubai and London, the bank was successfully able to tighten the pricing by 25 basis points from initial price talk due to strong demand from international and regional investors. This new issuance continues to demonstrate the Bank’s ability to secure favorable terms in the capital markets.
Commenting on the successful completion of this deal, Mohamed Khadiri, CEO of Bank of Sharjah, said: “Despite a period of heightened volatility, driven by various economic and geopolitical factors, we were able to secure significant investor interest, reflecting strong confidence in our new strategy and the bank’s financial stability and growth”.
“Being our fifth foray into the public international capital markets, the new issue provided us with an opportunity to deepen our relationships with existing investors while also attracting new ones regionally and internationally,” added Khadiri.
Expressing delight at the demand for the new bonds issue, Damian White, Head of Treasury at Bank of Sharjah, said: “This new bond issue marks an important milestone in the transformation of Bank of Sharjah. We set out with the goal of accessing a diverse group of investors, whilst also ensuring that the pricing reflected the turnaround in the Bank’s performance under its new strategy. The final pricing compared very favourably to that of the past deals and cements a solid base for future issuances. The Bank was very well supported by the Joint Lead Managers and legal advisors, who all helped to make this deal successful.”
Bank of Sharjah was advised by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Bank ABC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Doha Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Kamco Investment Company, Mashreq, QNB Capital and Standard Chartered.
