KUWAIT: KAMCO Investment Company, a leading investment firm with one of the largest AUMs in the region, issued a KD 40 million, five-year tenure bond, with KAMCO and Gulf Bank as Joint Lead Managers and Arrangers for the debt securities issuance. The transaction was well received by investors, and the success of the placement was witnessed by a strong oversubscription which was covered in a period of 3 days, the shortest subscription period for a KD denominated bond ever.
The decision by the Issuer and the Joint Lead Managers to shorten the subscription period to 3 days only was driven by their commitment to enhance the local market standards to be more in line with international best practices where subscription periods can be 24 hours or less.
The bond is comprised of two tranches: Fixed interest bonds with an interest rate of 6.00 percent, paid quarterly in arrears; and Floating interest bonds with an interest rate set at the discount rate declared by the Central Bank of Kuwait plus 2.75 percent paid quarterly in arrears, capped at 7.00 percent per annum.
KAMCO has recently been assigned an investment grade credit rating of ‘BBB’ long-term and ‘A3’ short term by Capital Intelligence Ratings Ltd. (“CI”). These ratings reflect the Firm’s solid performance and progressive development strategy while managing an AUM of $11.2 billion, as of December 31st, 2017.
Khaled Fouad, Chief Investment Officer of KAMCO, said, “I would like to extend my gratitude towards Gulf Bank and KAMCO’s Debt Capital Markets team for delivering a deal and making this transaction a resounding success. The strong appetite witnessed during this transaction is a testament to the robustness of KAMCO’s prudent investment strategy, strong credit profile, and access to institutional and high net worth clients. Proceeds from the issuance will be used for financing the future activities of the company.”
Fouad also said that KAMCO is a key player in the local and regional investment communities with plans to fully utilize its resources, generating the best financial and investment solutions for its clients and stakeholders alike. The firm is proud to once again play a prominent role in strengthening the local and regional capital markets ecosystem to fuel economic growth.
Ahmad Khaled Al-Duwaisan, General Manager of Corporate Banking at Gulf Bank, said, “Gulf Bank is proud to contribute to the issuance of this KD 40 million bond as we focus our commitment towards our corporate clients. We will continue to seek such opportunities to share our expertise and extensive knowledge, and drive local business and economical success.”
KAMCO and Gulf Bank expressed their appreciation towards the Capital Markets Authority for their support, commitment and cooperation towards enhancing the financial services industry.
