First Gulf Bank sets initial guidance for sukuk

Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank has set initial price guidance for a five-year, dollar-denominated benchmark Islamic bond at 210 basis points above midswaps, a document from the lead banks showed on Monday.

Joint bookrunners for the Islamic bond, or sukuk, issue are Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered .

A benchmark bond is typically at least $500 million.

The company kicked off investor meetings for a potential sukuk issuance in Kuala Lampur on July 21 and will conclude its roadshow on Tuesday in Switzerland.

FGB set up a new $3.5 billion Islamic bond programme earlier this month paving the way for its first sukuk sale.