Doha, February 24 (QNA) - The Ministry of Finance announced the completion of the issuance of USD 3 billion USD-denominated bonds across two maturities.

In a statement, the ministry said that the issuance successfully attracted strong demand from existing and new investors and underpinned the State's global investor appeal as one of the highest rated sovereigns in Emerging Markets.

The issuance included a USD 1.0 billion tranche maturing in 3 years with a coupon rate of 4.50 percent and a USD 2 billion tranche maturing in 10 years with a coupon rate of 4.875 percent. The rates represent a 30-basis points spread over 3-year US Treasuries, and a 45-basis points spread over 10-year US Treasuries, having started with an Initial Price Target of 60 basis points for the 3-year tranche and 80 basis points for the 10-year tranche. The orderbooks reached a peak at USD 17.5 billion which allowed price tightening of 30bps and 35bps from IPTs on the 3-year and 10-year tranches respectively.

The issuance was 5.8 times oversubscribed at the peak of demand, having attracted a diversified investor audience from across the MENA Region, the United States, UK/Europe and Asia. The spreads achieved by the State of Qatar represent the tightest spreads achieved by sovereign issuers in Emerging Markets so far this year, a testament to the deep trust international investors place in the State of Qatar's financial stability and growth strategy.

Rating agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch have assigned a credit rating of Aa2, AA and AA respectively to the bonds.

The bond issuance was managed by the global coordinators and joint bookrunners, JP Morgan, Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered Bank along with joint lead bookrunners: Banco Santander, Barclays, Citi, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and SMBC. (QNA)