Doha Bank announced Friday the successful issuance of $500mn in international bonds, with total order book reaching $2bn, representing an oversubscription of 4 times. The investor base included a number of leading asset managers, banks, private banks, and insurance companies from the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
In a statement, the bank said that the success of the issuance came after an extensive marketing campaign conducted by Doha Bank management prior to the issuance, communicating with investors from all over the world to provide an overview of the bank's objectives and performance. This resulted in positive investor reaction, in light of the promising future outlook for Doha Bank's business and the strong fundamentals of the Qatari economy. This allowed the bank to price a competitive credit spread of 130 basis points above the 5-year US Treasury yield, which is 30 basis points lower than the initial price guidance of 160 basis points.
In this context, Chairman of Doha Bank's Board of Directors Sheikh Fahad bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani, said that the issuance comes at a very important time for the bank, which has embarked on an ambitious strategic transformation programme.
For his part, Managing Director of Doha Bank's Board of Directors Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani, confirmed that the success of this historic transaction confirms the positive view of investors towards the strategic changes implemented by the bank.
In turn, CEO of Doha Bank Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Fahad bin Faisal al-Thani pointed out that the issuance recorded the bank's lowest credit spread ever. He added that capital markets are an integral part of Doha Bank's funding strategy, and the bank will continue to work on diversifying its funding sources and benefitting from new sources of liquidity to support its future plans.
Doha Bank previously issued similar bonds worth $500mn in March 2021.
Doha Bank is rated (A-) with a positive outlook by Fitch, and (Baa1) with a stable outlook by Moody's. These bonds were issued under Doha Bank's $2bn Euro Medium Term Note Programme listed on the London Stock Exchange.
