The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, or Rakbank, completed a $500 million (Dh1.84 billion) US dollar-denominated bond sale as the lender looks to pay maturing debt and pursue its growth plans.
The Ras Al Khaimah-based bank sold the five-year bond which pays an annual interest of 4.125 per cent, equivalent to 185 basis points over five-year mid swaps, a benchmark of pricing, it said on Wednesday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The bank, rated Baa1 by Moody's Investors Service and BBB+ by Fitch Ratings with stable outlook, received strong investors interest with the orderbook of the deal reaching $2bn. It allowed the lender to price the bond 25 bps lower than the initial price guidance of 210 bps, it said.
“Our return to the bond market is in line with our funding diversification efforts,” said Rakbank chief executive, Peter England. “This bond issuance will support our long-term funding requirements, which in turn supports our digitisation and diversification strategy, at the heart of our 2020 Strategic Plan.”
The new funding will allow the lender to invest in improving its services across all business units and enhance its digital offering, he said.
The senior unsecured bond offering, under Rakbank’s $2bn Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme will be used as part of the bank’s liquidity management pool in advance of the repayment of an existing bond maturing in June 2019, the lender said ahead of the bond roadshow, which took place in Hong Kong, Singapore and London.
Bank ABC, Citi, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, ICBC and Standard Chartered acted as joint lead managers and book-runners on the deal.
The bank, which had issued an $800m bond under its EMTN programme, expects to post higher earnings rather than just lower provisions in 2019 compared with last year after it reported a 13.2 per cent net profit increase for 2018 thanks to an 8.5 per cent drop in provisions, Mr England told The National in February.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20Alisson%2C%20Ederson%2C%20Weverton%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EDefenders%3A%20Dani%20Alves%2C%20Marquinhos%2C%20Thiago%20Silva%2C%20Eder%20Militao%20%2C%20Danilo%2C%20Alex%20Sandro%2C%20Alex%20Telles%2C%20Bremer.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EMidfielders%3A%20Casemiro%2C%20Fred%2C%20Fabinho%2C%20Bruno%20Guimaraes%2C%20Lucas%20Paqueta%2C%20Everton%20Ribeiro.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EForwards%3A%20Neymar%2C%20Vinicius%20Junior%2C%20Richarlison%2C%20Raphinha%2C%20Antony%2C%20Gabriel%20Jesus%2C%20Gabriel%20Martinelli%2C%20Pedro%2C%20Rodrygo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Atalanta v Juventus (6pm)
AC Milan v Napoli (9pm)
Torino v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Sunday
Bologna v Parma (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Lazio (6pm)
Roma v Brescia (6pm)
Verona v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Udinese (9pm)
Lecce v Cagliari (11.45pm)
Monday
SPAL v Genoa (11.45pm)
