11.32 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

First Gulf Bank, GGICO plan bond issuances

FGB last came to the market a year ago with a $500 million bond (FILE)

Published
By Reuters

Abu Dhabi-based First Gulf Bank and Dubai-based Gulf General Investment Company have appointed banks to launch new bond issues this year, sources said.

Abu Dhabi lender First Gulf Bank has mandated banks to arrange investor meetings starting November 3 and a bond sale could follow as the regional issue pipeline shows little sign of slowing down.

FGB hired HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi to arrange the meetings, according to a statement sent by the banks to investors and seen by Reuters.

The investor meetings will cover Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and kick off in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
FGB last came to the market a year ago with a $500 million three year bond carrying a coupon of 4 percent. The bond was sold under the bank's $3.5 billion euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme.

A flurry of new bond mandates from the Gulf Arab region have been announced in recent weeks and many of the recent issues that have come to the market have been substantially oversubscribed, pointing to significant pent up demand.

Qatar National Bank, the Gulf state's largest lender, Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (Ipic), Dubai's Gulf General Investment Co and Oman's MB Petroleum Services are all on the road this week.

UAE conglomerate Gulf General Investments Company (GGICO) also mandated three banks to lead a benchmark-sized senior notes offering, denominated in US dollars, market sources said on Monday.

HSBC, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank have been picked as the joint lead managers and bookrunners for the proposed issue, sources familiar with the matter said.

Benchmark-sized is typically $500 million.

GGICO, headquartered in Dubai since 2001, will begin an investor roadshow for the offering on Nov 2 in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, according to a statement sent by lead banks to investors and seen by Reuters.
The notes will be guaranteed by two GGICO subsidiaries - Emirates National Lube Oil Company Limited and Gulf Prefab Houses Factory LLC - and funds will be used, in part, to refinance and reduce the company's existing short-term debt.

"Together with the issuer, these subsidiaries represent the majority of the revenues, tangible assets and cash flows of the group," Moody's, which rated the proposed notes B1, said in a statement on Monday.
Moody's said the rating outlook is "negative".

The conglomerate has operations in the real estate, industrial and manufacturing sector as well as an investment portfolio.