Sharjah: Bank of Sharjah successfully priced a $500 million senior unsecured bond in the international markets. The issuance received an exceptional response from global investors, with orders peaking at over USD 1.8 billion, or a 3.6x oversubscription. The bonds carry a five-year tenor from the date of issuance, with a coupon of 4.875% per annum.
According to Emirates News Agency, following a comprehensive marketing campaign that included global investor calls and a physical roadshow in Dubai and London, the Bank achieved a price tightening of 30 basis points from initial guidance. This reflects strong and broad-based investor demand from both international and regional markets. This successful issuance underlines Bank of Sharjah's solid credit profile and its continued ability to access international capital markets on competitive terms.
Commenting on the successful completion of this deal, Mohamed Khadiri, CEO of Bank of Sharjah, noted that despite a period of heightened market volatility driven by various economic and geopolitical factors, as well as competing issuances, they successfully secured strong investor demand. He emphasized that this demonstrates continued confidence in their turnaround strategy, financial resilience, and growth prospects.
Khadiri added that this new issuance marked their sixth foray into the public international capital markets, allowing them to further strengthen their relationship with existing investors while attracting new participants from across the region and globally.
Damian White, Chief Treasury Officer at Bank of Sharjah, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that this new bond issue marks an important milestone in the transformation of Bank of Sharjah. White highlighted their objective to diversify the investor base while ensuring that the pricing reflected the Bank's improved financial performance under its renewed strategic direction. He noted that the final terms compare favorably with past issuances and lay a solid foundation for future access to capital markets. White also expressed gratitude for the strong support of their Joint Lead Managers and legal advisors, whose collaboration contributed significantly to the success of the deal.
Bank of Sharjah was advised by Arqaam Capital, Bank ABC, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Goldman Sachs International, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Kamco Invest, and Standard Chartered Bank.