01/06/2017 12:43 AST
Following a 15 year presence in the Shari'ah compliant market, ABG has successfully completed the transaction of its maiden Sukuk issuance. The Sukuk was well received in the GCC, Asian and European markets, and was five times oversubscribed, receiving subscriptions of $1.6 billion against the initial requirement of $ 300 million.
Due to the high subscription, the issue size was raised from $300 million to $400 million. The Sukuk issue is an Additional Tier 1 Perpetual Sukuk that is compliant with Basel III as per the Central Bank of Bahrain rules. Structured according to the principles of Mudarabah, the Sukuk carries a profit rate for an initial five-year term set at an expected return of 7.875 per cent per cent per annum, with five year resets thereafter. The issue will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Commenting on the transaction, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Member of the Board of Directors and President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, said, "As part of our strategy to expand our capital base, to grow in our existing and new markets and to strengthen the business of our banking units, we successfully completed the first Sukuk issuance of Al Baraka Banking Group, which is the first ever Tier 1 Sukuk issuance from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the first of its kind in terms of size to be issued by a private sector institution from the Kingdom of Bahrain. This confirms the strong banking and finance reputation and the prestigious position of the Bahrain Financial centre as well as the confidence international markets have in it."
"All indicators confirm once again the prestigious position and outstanding reputation of Al Baraka Banking Group in regional and global financial markets as a result of its strong track record, its strong financial, technical and human resources, and its broad geographic network," he added.
Standard Chartered Bank was appointed as the Global Coordinator for the deal. Joint Lead Managers for the transaction comprised of Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, KFH Capital, Noor Bank, QInvest and Standard Chartered Bank.
Al Baraka Banking Group is licenced as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain, listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totalling around one billion. It is jointly rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) on the international scale and A+ (bh) (long term) / A2 (bh) (short term) on the national by Islamic International Rating Agency & Dagong Global Credit Rating Company, and by Standard & Poor's at BB+ (long term) / B (short term).
Al Baraka offers retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'ah. The authorised capital of Al Baraka is $ 1.5 billion, while total equity is at about $2 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in fifteen countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.
CPI Financial
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