Qatar lender prices debut $500m bond
Doha, October 13, 2013
Qatar's Al Khaliji Commercial Bank has completed its maiden international bond, pricing a $500 million five-year offering, a document from lead managers said.
The country's sixth-largest lender by market value issued the bond with a coupon of 3.25 percent and a reoffer price of 99.575, the document said.
The transaction's spread of 180 basis points over midswaps was well inside the initial guidance of 195 bps over the same benchmark given on Tuesday, indicating healthy demand for the transaction.
Qatari banks have enjoyed strong profitability in recent quarters on the back of lending growth linked to the state's development plan, which has seen billions of dollars deployed into infrastructure projects, and the resultant boost to the wider economy.
Qatar National Bank, the nation's largest lender and bellwether for the local banking sector, had missed the average forecast of analysts but still reported a 14.3 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit.
Al Khaliji is due to report third-quarter numbers on October 29, according to its website.
BNP Paribas, HSBC Holdings, the investment banking arm of Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered arranged the Al Khaliji transaction, which is expected to be rated A- by Fitch Ratings.-Reuters
