Doha, May 17 (QNA) - Ezdan Holding Group Q.S.C. priced its inaugural Sukuk transaction in the debt capital markets with a very successful USD500 million 5 year Sukuk issue on 11 May 2016. The transaction attracted an order-book up to USD 837 million, with 71 investors participating.

Commenting on the deal, Chairman of Ezdan Holding Group HE Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, stated that "the coverage amount has almost doubled than the offered in a record time, which is an indication that Ezdan Holding Group is a trustworthy and reliable entity in the world of finance. Additionally, this would boost our strategy to reinforce the Group's investments domestically and globally over the next few years." HE Sheikh Khalid added that the process of Sukuk issue is regarded one of the means Ezdan Holding Group used as a remarkable transaction in the debt capital markets worldwide, aiming at expanding our investments and stimulating the Group's investments and their returns.

In this context, Group CEO of Ezdan Holding Ali Mohammed Al Obaidli, said, "We are very pleased at the excellent market reception to Ezdan's pioneering Sukuk issue. The highly successful offering demonstrates the confidence which international investors place in the Group and confirms the access to funding which our institution enjoys from the Islamic Finance Market. Investors’ strong interest resulted in the order book reaching to USD 837 million, around 1.67 times of the offer amount. This is a highly successful result that further confirms the credibility of Ezdan and the investors’ confidence in the promising outlook for the Group." Investors from the Middle East took 68% of the issuance, with European investors subscribing for 21% and Asian investors taking 11%. In terms of distribution by investor type, banks took 47% of the issue amount, followed by fund managers with 27%, private banks with 19% and other institutional investors with 7%.

The transaction, which announced on 3 May 2016, is the first milestone in Ezdan’s USD2 billion Sukuk programme. It was concluded after an extensive investor roadshow in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and London, United Kingdom. (QNA)