First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender by assets, issued a dual-listed, 1.4 billion Chinese yuan (Dh726.4 million) five-year formosa bond.
The bond is the largest denominated in Chinese yuan from the Mena region, FAB said on Tuesday.
Formosa bonds are issued in Taiwan by foreign borrowers but are denominated in currencies other than the Taiwanese dollar.
The Abu Dhabi-based lender said its bond attracted an order book of 1.6bn yuan, enabling it to upsize the issuance to 1.4bn yuan from 1bn yuan.
“This deal is further testament to FAB’s ability to access niche markets at short notice and to take advantage of opportunistic funding levels,” said Rula AlQadi, head of group funding, FAB. “The CNH deal swaps back well inside our USD curve for a decent size of the equivalent of almost $200m(Dh734m).”
FAB earned maximum demand from onshore Taiwan as well as from the rest of Asia due to the dual listing, the lender said.
"FAB has been a regular issuer in the formosa market which enabled the bank to print the largest deal from the region in this currency," the bank said.
FAB was the structuring agent on the deal, which was issued under the bank’s $15bn (Dh55bn) Euro Medium Term Note programme, the bank said.
Gulf lenders, including FAB, have been actively tapping the bond markets this year.
In February, FAB said it raised Dh3bn in two separate bond issuances over three days.
The lender issued a three-year, £450m (Dh2.15bn) bond, which was the first and largest issuance in sterling from a financial institution in the Middle East, as well as a A$350m (Dh860m) five-year Kangaroo bond, its first in Australia since 2014.
The bank also issued a $500m sukuk earlier this year, for which the order book topped $1bn.
FAB was formed in 2017 through the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank.
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
