Kuwaiti petchem group Equate wins top honours
KUWAIT, January 2, 2018
Equate, a global producer of petrochemical products based in Kuwait, said it has won regional recognition by clinching the Investment Grade Bond/Sukuk Deal of the Year Award at the 2017 GFC Media Middle East Awards in Dubai.
Equate won the top honours for its debut $2.25 billion 144A and Reg S five-year and ten-year dual-tranche bond offering, which was issued during November 2016.
The bond issuance is part of the company’s long-term financial restructuring plan following the acquisition of MEGlobal in December 2015, said a statement from Equate.
The Kuwait group's two-time oversubscribed bonds were the largest issuance by the private sector in the GCC region since 2014. The bonds are also the first ever 144A offering issued by a Kuwait-based corporation.
The success of Equate's bonds was followed by an international issuance of $500 million sukuk (Islamic bonds) in February 2017 with a maturity date in 2024, it stated.
On the win, Phisanu Sermchaiwong, the chief financial officer, said: "The award is a testament to Equate's strong global status and financial position, as well as its significant contribution to the regional and international industrial sector, and debt capital markets (DCM)."
An international joint venture, Equate’s shareholders include Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).
"The group’s strong position is further supported by investment-grade rating of Baa2 from Moody’s and BBB+ from Standard & Poor’s. We are very grateful to the financial community for this prestigious recognition of the group's achievements in the financial sector," he added.
The world’s second largest producer of Ethylene Glycol (EG), Equate has industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that annually produce over 5 million tons of Ethylene, Polyethylene and Polyethylene Terephthalate.
The products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.-TradeArabia News Service
