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Arab Energy Fund, formerly known as Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation or APICORP, has raised $500 million from its Regulation S 10-year senior unsecured sukuk, with the price tightened to 85 basis points of SOFR mid-swaps from an initial price guidance of +95bps area.
The Wakala-Murabaha structure carries a 4.721% coupon rate, with an issue price set at par. The spread is set at +45bps over US Treasuries, with an expected issue rating of Aa2 (Moody’s) / AA+ (Fitch), in line with the sukuk obliger APICORP’s own rating.
The final orderbook was in excess of $1.6 billion.
A listing on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai is expected to follow.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, KFH Capital, KIB Invest, Mashreq, Nomura and Standard Chartered are the joint lead managers and bookrunners on the issuance.
Last week, the Saudi-headquartered financial institution gained access to China’s domestic bond market after receiving regulatory approval to issue up to $1.4 billion in onshore Renminbi-denominated Panda bonds over a two-year period, across multiple tranches.
Established in 1975, Arab Energy Fund is owned by 10 Arab oil-exporting countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)
