QIIB successfully issues $500mn 'Oryx' sustainable sukuk; issuance 'hugely' oversubscribed

QIIB announced the successful issuance of its $500mn sustainable ‘Oryx’ sukuk for a period of five years, as part of the bank's sukuk programme with a total value of $2bn.The sustainability sukuk from QIIB witnessed significant interest and overwhelming response from investors worldwide, with subscription requests reaching over $4bn.The issuance was priced at a spread of 120 basis points above the five-year US Treasury rate, with a final yield of 5.247% annually.Earlier, QIIB had appointed Standard Chartered Bank as the global coordinator for the issuance, along with Al Rayan Investment (Masraf Alrayan Group), Dukhan Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, KFH Capital, Mashreqbank, and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and QNB Capital as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for the issuance.Commenting on the success of the issuance, QIIB chief executive officer, Dr Abdulbasit Ahmed al-Shaibei stated: "We are extremely pleased with the success of this sustainable sukuk issuance and its outstanding pricing. It is a defining moment for us, as it marks the first issuance of sustainable sukuk following the establishment of a dedicated framework for sustainable financing in the bank, which aims to fund projects that contribute to environmental and social benefits."He noted: "The sustainable sukuk we have issued is part of our active engagement in aligning with the Third Financial Sector Strategy recently approved by the Qatar Central Bank, encompassing principles, particularly with regard to sustainability, aiming further development and prosperity in the financial sector from various perspectives."Dr al-Shaibei said: "The significant success of the sukuk issuance and its favourable pricing clearly indicate the great confidence that QIIB enjoys internationally, based on strong credit ratings and the strength of the Qatari economy, which provides support to various economic sectors in the country, especially banking.""We have observed exceptional interest in QIIB's sukuk, giving us more confidence to build partnerships regionally and internationally related to sustainability, focusing on programmes, serving the community and financing projects that provides to basic services and infrastructure at reasonable rates."Dr al-Shaibei explained: "Our new sukuk issuance under the approved $2bn programme, at its various stages, achieves several objectives, including enhancing sustainability-linked financing, solidifying our presence in global financial markets, and providing us with the opportunity to form new partnerships with investors from around the world.""QIIB has a rich experience in sukuk issuance, successfully issuing $700mn sukuk in 2012 and two issuances in 2019 of $300mn and $500mn respectively, both listed on the London Stock Exchange,” the CEO noted.Dr al-Shaibei expressed gratitude to the banks that arranged the successful issuance at various stages until it culminated in its significant success.