FGB issues Sukuk transaction

First Gulf Bank

First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB), leading financial partner of choice in the UAE, announced mandating each of Citi, HSBC, NBAD and Standard Chartered banks as Joint Lead Managers for its 5-yr USD 500 million Sukuk under the FGB Sukuk Company Limited U.S. $3,500,000,000 Trust Certificate Issuance Programme. Subscription is set to begin on January 11, 2012.

Last year, FGB received excellent endorsement for its Sukuk where it was 6 times oversubscribed by more than 200 different investors worldwide. Of these investors, 46% were Middle East based, 24% were from Europe, 24% from Asia and 6% from the US and other markets. The transaction was divided between Banks (49%), Funds (39%), Retail (6%) and Insurance and Pensions (6%).  

The final price for last year’s Sukuk was set at 200 basis points above midswaps. The Regulated S Bonds are listed in London and retain a fixed profit rate of 3.797 % p.a. Proceeds from the Sukuk are to be used for Islamic general corporate purposes and to fund the growth of the FGB’s Islamic loan book.