Kuwaits Warba Bank among ESICs $600mln sukuk issue arrangers

The sukuk issuance has a tenor of five years at a profit rate of 3.939% per annum, Al-Seyassah newspaper reported.

Last week, ESIC unveiled the debut of $600 million Islamic bonds, saying that the senior unsecured certificates were issued under its recently established $1 billion Sukuk programme listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The sukuk was oversubscribed 6.2 times with a $3.7 billion orderbook and the participation of over 135 investors from over 20 countries.

The transaction was arranged by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Standard Chartered Bank as joint global coordinators.

Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), National Bank of Bahrain, Standard Chartered Bank, and Warba Bank acted as joint lead managers.

Meanwhile, Allen & Overy acted as legal counsel for the banks, and Simmons & Simmons acted for ESIC.

Earlier this month, Moody's Investors Service announced it had assigned ESIC’s first-time long-term issuer rating at Baa3, with a stable outlook.

It is worth noting that Warba Bank previously reported a 17.5% year-on-year growth in its profit for the second quarter of 2019, recording KWD 2.68 million.

In the first half of 2019, the bank’s profits increased by 25% to KWD 6.5 million, versus KWD 5.2 million in H1-18.