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The Government of the Emirate of Sharjah through its finance department, has raised 2 billion renminbi ($280.3 million) from a three-year Panda bond.
The final coupon has not been disclosed, but initial price thoughts were in the 2.5%–3.2% area on Monday.
Bank of China is the lead underwriter and bookrunner. Credit Agricole (China), JP Morgan Chase (China), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Bohai Bank, Citic Securities, Export-Import Bank of China and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities are joint lead underwriters and bookrunners.
Proceeds will be remitted offshore and converted into dirham or US dollars, to be used to finance budget expenditures, infrastructure projects and other expenses in the issuer's budget.
Sharjah last tapped the Panda bond market in February 2018, issuing RMB 2 billion ($316 million), making it the first Middle Eastern issuer to enter China’s domestic bond market.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
