London Stock Exchange listed QIIB’s $500m sukuk in the presence of QIIB Chairman and Managing Director, Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani; Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abdulbasit Ahmad Al Shaibei; Qatar’s Ambassador to the UK, Yousef bin Ali Alal-Khater; UK’s Ambassador to Qatar, Ajay Sharma; and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HTMC)Simon Penney.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, Chief of Treasury and Investment; and Hossam Khattab, Chief Financial Officer were also present at the event, representing QIIB.
The highly successful offering was oversubscribed nearly seven times with investors bidding for more than seven times the amount offered and reflects the positive outlook of the Qatari economy and the strength of its financial position.
The offering was oversubscribed by investors, mostly from outside the Middle East, with a total of USD3.3bn.
The issue was priced at a spread of 175 basis points over the 5-year mid swaps carrying fixed coupon of 4.264 percent per annum. The participation included investors from around the world with 30 percent from the MEMA and 70 percent to other investors from Europe, Asia, Australia and other countries.
During the announcement of the bank’s sukuk listing on London Stock Exchange, QIIB Chairman and Managing Director Sheikh Dr Khaled said: “We are very pleased with the success of the issuance and the listing. We are proud that confidence in the Qatari economy reached record levels among various categories of investors around the world”.
He added: “During the past period, the Qatari economy was able to achieve exceptional results. We are honoured to be part of its success story and the way it has overcome all obstacles and challenges, which was highly admired at the regional and international levels.”
“We noticed during our promotional roadshow, prior to the issuance of the sukuk and during the issuance process that the embargo on Qatar failed miserably and bounced back on those who had imposed it. The high solvency of the Qatari economy and the strong financial position of the Qatari banks are very well appreciated and respected internationally, which helped us successfully issue the sukuk and price it very competitively,” Sheikh Dr Khalid added.
QIIB Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdulbasit Ahmad Al Shaibei said” the QIIB sukuk was met with strong demand from discerning investors after being priced at competitive rates, supported by the credit ratings assigned to it by leading international rating agencies such as Moody’s (A2).
The CEO noted that QIIB’s decision to list its sukuk on the London Stock Exchange was a strategic one, borne out of its confidence that London will remain a prominent international financial centre regardless of the Brexit outcome. It is also an important centre for Islamic banking instruments and will remain so during the foreseeable period”.
He said, “Sukuks, as flexible and unique investment instruments, can provide issuers such as QIIB many advantages, especially in the global financial market. They can help us to open up to investors outside the Middle East, especially those who have never dealt with the Qatari market”.
Source from: The Peninsula