Mashreq tightens pricing by 30bp on USD 500 mn bond

Mashreq tightened pricing by 30bps on a USD 500 mn, five-year bond last week — one of three UAE issuers to successfully tap international debt markets even as regional tension keeps investors more selective. The bond priced at 115bp over US Treasuries, down from initial guidance of +145bp, with an order book of USD 925 mn (including USD 50 mn of joint lead manager interest). The bond carries a 5.625% coupon, yields 5.736%, matures 16 September 2031, and carries an A rating from both Fitch and S&P, in line with the bank’s own rating.

Mashreq wasn’t alone. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) priced its own USD 500 mn, five-year note the same week, tightening to 90bp over Treasuries from +115bp initial guidance. DP World followed with a dual-tranche raise — EUR 750 mn of six-year green notes at 4.750% and USD 750 mn of 10-year notes at 6.250%, both roughly 25bp tighter than where they opened. All three issuances tightened from initial guidance — a signal that UAE issuers still have real access to international capital even in a market where investors are pricing in more regional risk than a year ago.

IN CONTEXT- Order books across the market are thinner than they were earlier in the cycle. A regional banker not involved in the transactions told Zawya that books across recent UAE issuance have run lighter than in prior rounds — part of why issuers have kept transaction sizes at USD 500 mn rather than stretching further.

ADVISORS- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Bank, FAB, and Mashreq itself were bookrunners, alongside ANZ Group Holdings, BBVA, Barclays, BofA Securities, ICBC, Mizuho Financial Group, Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered.