Tabreed raises $500m through sukuk issue

National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), listed in Dubai, raised $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) with a fixed rate senior unsecured US dollar denominated sukuk with a seven-year tenor. The issue follows a series of fixed income investor meetings which took place in Europe and Asia, as well as in the UAE. The new sukuk, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, was oversubscribed by 50 per cent. The sukuk was competitively priced, with a profit rate of 5.5 per cent, underpinned by Moody’s Baa3 and Fitch’s BBB credit ratings. These ratings are the first to be assigned to Tabreed by Moody’s and Fitch, and have also been assigned to the sukuk itself. Tabreed has also arranged new bank facilities up to Dh1.5bn. Together with the proceeds from the new sukuk issue, these will be used to refinance Dh2.8 billion of corporate debt to improve Tabreed’s cash flow and allow for the company’s expansion into new and existing markets.