Gulf Bank successfully completes issuance of KD 50 million bonds
Jointly managing the issuance with Kamco Invest and Markaz
KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has announced it has successfully completed its issuance of KD 50 million subordinated Tier 2 bonds. The bond issue was oversubscribed 1.57 times, with the total value of subscriptions amounting to KD 78.5 million.
Gulf Bank issued the subordinated Tier 2 bonds in Kuwaiti dinars, with a tenure period of 10 years, callable after 5 years, and of KD 50 million. The bonds were rated BBB+ by Capital Intelligence.
These bonds offer rewarding returns for holders of both fixed-interest bonds and variable-interest bonds. The KD 25 million Fixed Rate bonds offer a 4 percent interest, and the KD 25 million Floating Rate bonds offer a rate of 2.25 percent above the Central Bank of Kuwait’s discount rate. The interest will be paid in quarterly installments, with payments commencing on September 10, 2021.
On this occasion, Gulf Bank’s CEO, Tony Daher, said: “We are proud of our successful issuance of KD 50 million bonds. These instruments have received great interest, as reflected by their demand volume reaching 157 percent, and indicate overall market confidence in the performance, position and strategic plans of Gulf Bank. We are confident that this issuance will contribute to enhancing Gulf Bank’s capital adequacy, in compliance with Basel III frameworks, and will serve our upcoming investment plans towards making Gulf Bank the bank of the future.”
The bond issuance process was jointly managed by both Kamco Invest and Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz).
Faisal Sarkhou, Kamco Invest’s CEO said: “We are proud of the efforts and cooperation portrayed by all involved parties who played a pivotal role in successfully completing this bond issuance. This transaction marks yet another milestone that will pave the path for additional issuances that will strengthen the local and regional debt markets. Gulf Bank’s financial position and clear vision have helped in closing the issuance in a short period with oversubscription. We look forward to managing more bond and sukuk issuances through our Debt Capital Markets team, who have spared no efforts in delivering the best possible outcome for all our valued clients.”
Commenting on the latest bond issuance, Ali H Khalil, CEO of Kuwait Financial Centre Company said: “Our participation in the Bonds transaction has been met with great attention by investors in view of the excellent reputation of Gulf Bank and the professional expertise of Markaz and the other lead managers in providing a variety of investment opportunities to the clients. Markaz assisted a number of local companies from various sectors in issuing bonds and sukuk to obtain financing required to support its businesses. We value our solid relationship with Gulf Bank and we seek to maintain and reinforce this relationship through the continuous cooperation between us.”