Abu Dhabi, January 10, 2012: 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.