Posted inNEWSMARKETS
Posted inNEWSMARKETS

UAE returns to debt markets with 10-year $1.5 billion US-denominated bond

The order was oversubscribed by more than four times.

Ministry of Finance
UAE Ministry of Finance. Credit: WAM

The UAE Ministry of Finance has successfully closed its offering of a US dollar-denominated 10-year $1.50 billion bond, maturing in July 2034. The offering marked the country’s first debt sale since September 2023.

The security was priced at 60 basis points over US Treasuries and was issued with a yield of 4.857%. The offering was oversubscribed more than four times after demand exceeded $5.75bn.  It will be listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq Dubai.

Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said the completion of the bond is “a testament to our nation’s enduring attractiveness to investors and our position as one of the world’s premier investment hubs.”

“The UAE has once again achieved outstanding results in its recent bond offering, attracting strong and diversified investor demand,” he added.

The final allocation of the 10-year bonds by investor type was 56% to fund managers, 40% to banks and private banks, 1% to pension funds and insurance, 1% to central banks and sovereign wealth funds and 2% to the other sectors. Geographically, 38% of investors were located in the Middle East, 34% in the US, 18% in the UK, 7% in Europe and 3% in Asia.

The joint lead managers and book-runners on the transaction were, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Emirates NBD Capital Limited, First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C., HSBC Bank plc, J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Standard Chartered Bank.

The debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA- by Fitch Ratings.