First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) set the final price guidance for its 5-year benchmark-sized USD-denominated sukuk at 85 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, Reuters reports. The spread was revised downwards from an earlier guidance of 100 bps. The shariah-compliant bonds are part of a USD 5 bn trust certificate issuance program that was announced last January, according to the prospectus (pdf).

Orders rolled in: The bank received USD 1.45 bn in orders over the course of the day yesterday, leading the bank to narrow the spread, according to Reuters. The exact size of the issuance has not been publicly announced, but benchmark issuances are typically set at a minimum USD 500 mn.

Advisors: Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector are joint lead managers and bookrunners, according to Reuters.

FAB’s sukuk marks the first non-sovereign issuance of the year in the UAE. The Emirati market saw some AED 28,7 bn sukuk issuances (c. USD 7.8 bn) in 1H 2023 alone.

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