Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) closed a USD 700 mn sukuk issuance on Friday, according to a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The London-listed offering was 4x oversubscribed with banks taking orders worth USD 3 bn, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The details: The lender sold 3.5k shariah-compliant securities with a five-year maturity. The issuance carried a 5% annual yield, trading at 105 bps above US treasuries, according to Reuters. The issuance was open to local and international investors through a special purpose vehicle with proceeds earmarked to support the lender’s Islamic finance business.

Not the first:The issuance is part of the lender’s USD 4 bn trust certificate issuance program, rated A- by S&P Global. Last year, BSF closed a USD 900 mn RegS senior unsecured sukuk issuance that was 3x oversubscribed. The London-listed issuance offered an annual yield of 4.75% with a five-year maturity.

ADVISORS- BSF had hired Citigroup Global Markets, Emirates NBD Bank, HSBC Bank, Merrill Lynch International, Mizuho International, and Saudi Fransi Capital as joint lead managers on the transaction.

Market reax:BSF shares fell 1.7% to SAR 39.5 at yesterday’s close.

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