Sharjah narrows price guidance for USD 750 mn bond issuance

The Sharjah government is expected to raise USD 750 mn from its USD-denominated benchmark sustainable bond issuance after narrowing the price guidance to around 195 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, Reuters reports, citing a bank document.

Orders for the issuance topped USD 4 bn, prompting Sharjah to tighten the price guidance from an initial spread of 235 bps over US treasuries.

ADVISORS- Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC are joint global coordinators, lead managers, and bookrunners, while Citi, Credit Agricole CIB, and Standard Chartered Bank will act as joint lead managers and bookrunners. HSBC will serve as the sole ESG structuring agent.

IN OTHER DEBT NEWS-

DIB’s USD sustainable sukuk 2.5x oversubscribed: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) launched its five-year USD 1 bn sustainable sukuk, receiving USD 2.5 bn worth of orders, the bank said in a DFM filing (pdf). DIB achieved its lowest credit spread on the sustainable sukuk, positioning the lender among a select few in the Middle East below the threshold of 100 bps above US treasuries for senior issuances, according to the statement.

REMEMBER- Dubai Islamic Bank began selling its sukuk on Tuesday. The bank tightened pricing to 95 bps over US treasuries after receiving strong demand from investors, down from an initial price guidance of 125 bps. The sukuk is part of its USD 7.5 bn trust certificate issuance program.

Advisors: The emirate’s largest Islamic bank appointed our friends at Mashreq, along with Al Rajhi Capital, Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, and Standard Chartered as lead managers and joint bookrunners. DIB is also among the lead managers and joint bookrunners. Standard Chartered will independently manage sustainability standards.