QIB Completes Successful Issuance of $750 Million Sukuk

Doha, March 20 (QNA) - Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) successfully priced a $750 million 5-year Sukuk at par with a profit rate of 3.982 percent (equivalent to a credit spread of 150bps over US$ Mid-Swaps). The $750 million Sukuk was a drawdown under QIB's existing $4 million program and the Trust Certificates will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext Dublin). The Sukuk was met with strong investor demand as evidenced by the large orderbook which closed at $3.1 billion, representing an oversubscription rate of 4.1 times. In terms of geography, 46 percent of the Sukuk was allocated to Asian investors, followed by Middle Eastern accounts (23 percent), Europe (21 percent) and US/Other (10 percent). In total, non-Middle Eastern investors were allocated 77 percent of the Sukuk, which is a remarkable outcome and one of the highest international allocations achieved by any bank from the region. 60 percent of the investors were fund managers, 26 percent were banks and private banks and 14 percent were insurance companies & agencies. More than 140 investors from 28 countries spanning Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East participated in the Sukuk. The success of this transaction came on the back of a comprehensive marketing strategy aimed at updating international investors with QIB's robust credit fundamentals and the strength of Qatar's economy. Group CEO of QIB Bassel Gamal commented, "This transaction cements the ability of Qatari banks to raise funding from a diverse set of international investors. QIB is proud of the Sukuk's results and we are very pleased with the success of the transaction, which showcases the confidence investors have in our bank, and more importantly in the State of Qatar." Barclays, Barwa Bank, Boubyan Bank, Credit Agricole CIB, QInvest, QNB Capital and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners on this transaction, with Deutsche Bank as a Co-Manager. (QNA)