The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) recently closed its debut $450 million Floating Rate three-year Eurobond. The issue marks NBK's inaugural Eurobond, creating the first international debt capital markets transaction from Kuwait and the Gulf region to date, stated a press release.
JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley acted as joint bookrunners and joint lead-managers for the offering. Launched at a time when the three-month London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) was near a historical low at 1.75 percent, the issue achieved a coupon of three-month LIBOR + 25 bps. The pricing benefited from an A2 credit rating, two notches above the sovereign ceiling of Kuwait.
The proceeds from the Eurobond issue are expected to increase the duration of NBK’s foreign currency liabilities and diversify its sources of funds. The bonds are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Founded in 1952, NBK has historically shown consistently high profitability ratios and is considered one the most profitable financial institution in the Arab world. As of year-end 2001, the bank had total assets of $14.6 billion and equity of $1.7 billion. NBK reported a 4.6 per cent increase in 2001 net profits to a record $342 million. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
