Al Hilal prices $500m sukuk

Abu Dhabi government-owned Al Hilal Bank priced its debut $500 million five-year sukuk issue, a document from lead managers said on Tuesday, as Gulf issuers flood back to the market to take advantage of conducive market conditions.

The transaction priced at par with a profit rate of 3.267 percent and a spread of 170 basis points over midswaps, the document said. The spread had tightened significantly from the initial price thoughts, released on Sunday, which had indicated a spread of 190 bps over the benchmark.

Orders from investors had reached $2.75 billion, leads said on Monday, prior to the conclusion of roadshows. Details on the final book size have not yet been released.

The deal for Al Hilal, fully owned by state fund Abu Dhabi Investment Council, was arranged by Citigroup, HSBC , National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered, along with Al Hilal itself.

Four other banks - Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia's Maybank, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Union National Bank - joined the deal at completion as co-managers.

Al Hilal is one of a raft of Gulf borrowers who have announced plans to come to the market in recent days, as the delay to tapering by the United States Federal Reserve creates conducive market conditions for new offerings.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp completed a $1 billion bond last week, with the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and Qatar's Al Khaliji Commercial Bank announcing on Monday and Tuesday respectively they would meet investors ahead of potential debt market issues.

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