GIC ISSUES US$252 MLN FIVE-YEAR SUKUK

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Kuwait's Gulf Investment Corporation GSC (GIC) has issued RM750 million (US$252.144 million) five-year sukuk under its existing 20-year RM3.5 billion (US$1.176 billion) Sukuk Wakalah bi Istithmar Medium Term Notes Programme.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd acted as the Sole Lead Manager for the Sukuk issuance with AmIslamic Bank Bhd appointed as the transaction agent to facilitate the commodity trading via the Suq Al-Sila’ trading platform on Bursa Malaysia, AmBank Group said in a statement Wednesday.

It said the sukuk, which has been assigned a long term rating of AAA by RAM Rating Services Bhd, would enable GIC to tap the Malaysian capital markets for long-dated funding and improve its asset-liability management, thereby mitigating liquidity and interest rate risks.

The second issuance from the GIC Sukuk this year and the fourth issuance from GIC in Malaysia since 2008 has a tenure of five years and carries a semi-annual profit payment of 4.90 per cent per annum.

In March, GIC had sold its first tranche of RM600 million (US$201.714 million) of five year GIC Sukuk in Malaysia at a yield of 5.25 per cent per annum.

Despite the recent uncertainties in the global markets, the issuing pricing process was competitive and managed to come in tighter than the issuance in March, meeting with GIC’s current target pricing levels.