EIB eyes $500m sukuk

Emirates Islamic Bank, the sharia-compliant arm of Dubai lender Emirates NBD, launched a $500 million sukuk on Wednesday at the tight end of guidance amid strong demand for its latest debt sale.

The sukuk launched at a spread of 310 basis points over midswaps, lead arrangers said, and is due to mature in January 2018.

It is EIB's second debt markets foray this year, after the lender issued a $500 million Islamic bond in January. That issue carried a profit rate of 4.718 percent.

That sukuk, maturing in 2017 was bid at 103.25 cents to the dollar on Wednesday, to yield 3.9 percent.

On Tuesday, EIB had issued initial price talk in the area of 330 basis points over midswaps.

A significant tightening of guidance at launch indicates there was strong demand for the deal; arranging banks said books were around $3.75 billion ahead of launch.

Emirates NBD Capital, Credit Agricole, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered Plc are bookrunners on the transaction.

Following substantially oversubscribed bond sales from Dubai-based mall developer Majid al Futtaim Holding and the Bahrain government last week, EIB would also have benefitted from the recent tightening of spreads and increased international interest for regional debt.

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