ADQ mulls inaugural benchmark-sized USD bond issuance: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ is reportedly selling its first dual-tranche USD-denominated benchmark sized senior unsecured bonds with tenors between five and ten years, Bloomberg and Reuters reported, citing people they say are familiar with the matter. A global investor call reportedly took place on Monday to discuss the debut offering.

Sound smart: A benchmark sized issuance usually has a minimum value of USD 500 mn.

ADQ is looking to diversify its funding sources for future acquisitions, according to one of the sources. In addition to its landmark USD 35 bn agreement with the Egyptian government back in February, ADQ has committed to plenty of investments over the last few months, including agreements in Kenya worth USD 500 mn and initiated a USD 180 mn tech-focused fund in Oman just last week.

The offering comes one week after Abu Dhabi’s first eurobond sale in three years, raising around USD 5 bn in one of the biggest emerging market transactions of the year, according to Bloomberg. Companies under Abu Dhabi’s ownership had around USD 113 bn in outstanding debt by the end of 2023, according to the bond prospectus.

DATA POINT: The wealth fund, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, manages around AED 720.5 bn (USD 196 bn) worth of assets.

Advisors: Our friends at HSBC Holdings and First Abu Dhabi Bank, alongside Citigroup, Crédit Agricole, Goldman Sachs International, and Standard Chartered will act as joint global coordinators and active bookrunners, according to Reuters and Bloomberg.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Most Asian markets are closed this morning in observance of Labor Day. The Nikkei was down about 0.7% in early trading, while Australia’s ASX 200 was off a bit more than 1%. Markets are also closed today in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain and will look to make up ground tomorrow after the broad Stoxx 600 closed down nearly 1.5% for the month of April. Futures suggest shares in London and New York will face selling pressure at the opening bell later today.

EGX30

24,449

-6.0% (YTD: -1.8%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 47.79

Sell 47.93

USD (CIB)

Buy 47.80

Sell 47.90

Interest rates CBE

27.25% deposit

28.25% lending

Tadawul

12,395

+0.2% (YTD: +3.6%)

ADX

9,067

+0.1% (YTD: -5.3%)

DFM

4,156

-0.1% (YTD: +2.4%)

S&P 500

5,036

-1.6% (YTD: +5.6%)

FTSE 100

8,144

0.0% (YTD: +5.3%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,921

-1.2% (YTD: +8.8%)

Brent crude

USD 87.86

-0.6%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 1.99

-1.9%

Gold

USD 2,302.90

-2.3%

BTC

USD 60,118.00

-4.5% (YTD: +41.8%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 6.0% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.5 bn (29.1% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 1.8% YTD.

In the green: E-finance (+0.4%).

In the red: Talaat Moustafa Group (-12.0%), Qalaa Holding (-10.7%) and Eipico (-10.4%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

#1-Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company will pay out a dividend of EGP 1.25 per share on its 2023 earnings, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf). The dividend will be paid in two installments, EGP 0.75 at the end of this month and EGP 0.50 in September.

#2- Rameda Pharma will pay out a dividend of EGP 0.67 per share on its 2023earnings, which will be paid over three installments in June, October, and December of 2024, the company said in a bourse disclosure (pdf).

Tags: