Kuwait’s Warba Bank has listed its USD 500 mn green sukuk on the London Stock Exchange under its USD 2 bn trust certificate issuance programme, according to a statement released earlier this week.
The details: The five-year issuance — which launched on Nasdaq Dubai in July — was 3.5x oversubscribed, drawing in USD 1.8 bn in orders, according to the statement. The issuance by Warba Bank marks Kuwait’s first sustainable sukuk issuance, according to the statement.
What they said: “These sukuk not only enhance our financial strength by providing sustainable liquidity, but also support the diversification of funding sources and compliance with international regulatory standards, including Basel Liquidity Management Standards,” Warba Bank’s Chief Treasury Officer Abdullah Al Lanqawi said.
Not the only Kuwaiti lender tapping on green bonds this year: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) issued its first USD 500 mn green bonds in June, marking one of the largest green bond issuances by a conventional financial institution in the MENA region. An amount equivalent to the issuance’s net proceeds will be directed to fund eligible green assets, the bank said.