Al Hilal Bank closes $500mln senior 5-yr sukuk

Al Hilal Bank has successfully issued $500 million five-year senior sukuk, which are considered the UAE’s first senior public sukuk since April.

The transaction was the result of the bank’s extensive marketing strategy that aimed to bring in more regional and international investors for the bank, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).

"The Bank's management team has taken the opportunity to continually promote and showcase the strength of the Abu Dhabi economy and the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 in all of our meetings with global investors,” Al Hilal Bank’s treasurer David Whitcroft commented.

The issuance was nearly three times oversubscribed by around 70 investors, scattered across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, WAM added.

“The capital markets are ever more important to us going forward and we, as always, appreciate investors’ confidence in our name,” Whitcroft said.

Al Hilal Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Nomura, and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners for the Sukuk.

The $500 million sukuk was issued as a drawdown under Al Hilal’s $2.5 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.