Bank of Sharjah leads $350mln sukuk issuance for Ittihad

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Abu Dhabi – Bank of Sharjah acted as a joint lead manager and bookrunner in a $350 million Sukuk issuance for UAE-based Ittihad International Investment LLC, according to a press release.

The listed lender participated in the 144A/Reg S senior unsecured sukuk transaction alongside other international and regional banks.

Mohamed Khadiri, CEO of Bank of Sharjah, commented: “Our participation in this Sukuk issuance underscores Bank of Sharjah’s strategic vision to offer financing and capital market solutions to meet the funding requirements of UAE-based corporates.”

Khadiri added: “While Ittihad has previously accessed the loan syndication market, the success of this transaction holds strategic importance, representing a major milestone in the group’s history as it marks their entry into the Islamic capital markets for the first time.”

The CEO highlighted that the Sukuk issuance was 1.7 times oversubscribed, adding that the order book reached nearly $600 million.

“We are committed to pursuing Bank of Sharjah’s strategic objectives to further strengthen our position as a leading banking institution in the Emirate of Sharjah and across the UAE,” he concluded.

In the first nine months (9M) of 2023, the bank’s net losses after tax plummeted to AED 122.42 million from AED 281.65 million in 9M-22.

The operating income retreated to AED 323.93 million in January-September 2023 from AED 459.73 million a year earlier, while the basic and diluted loss per share dropped to AED 0.04 from AED 0.12.