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The kingdom of Jordan is the latest sovereign to tap international debt markets amidst of a flurry of issuances in the Middle East this week.
The kingdom, acting through the Ministry of Finance, rated Ba3 (stable) by Moody’s, BB- (stable) by S&P and BB- (stable) by Fitch, has issued a mandate for a dollar-denominated 144A Reg S seven-year fixed rate bond, along with a tender offer.
Citi and HSBC have been appointed as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners to arrange a series of one-on-one and small group fixed income investor calls commencing on Monday, November 3.
Jordan has also announced a concurrent offer to purchase for cash any and all of the outstanding $1 billion 6.125% Notes due 2026. The tender offer will expire on November 10. Citi and HSBC are acting as dealer managers.
Sovereigns and corporates have been taking advantage of favourable interest rates in the region, with Monday also seeing Qatar launch initial price thoughts (IPT) for a dual-tranche US dollar-denominated offering comprising a three-year senior unsecured conventional bond and a 10-year senior unsecured sukuk.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF-backed Gulf International Bank KSA also mandated a debut US dollar 5.5 AT1 bond on Monday.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
