Warba Bank achieves maiden sukuk success
KUWAIT, March 9, 2017
Warba Bank, a leading investment bank in Kuwait, has achieved international success for its maiden sukuk issuance of $250 million Tier 1 Mudaraba Capital Certificates.
A one-week marketing campaign succeeded in attracting investor interest worth approximately $1.3 billion from Kuwait, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and London, attaining an oversubscription of more than five times the sukuk issuance size, the bank said.
Warba Bank CEO Shaheen Hamad Al-Ghanem said the bank’s success in attracting such diverse and deep investor interest reflected the confidence of the investment community in the bank’s performance and its future as crafted in its 2017-2021 strategic plan.
The callable $250 million perpetual sukuk was issued at a coupon rate of 6.50 per cent with the first call date set for March 14, 2022.
Al-Ghanem indicated that the success of the bank in covering the underwriting of the sukuk which aims at consolidating the bank’s base capital through the first tier of the capital, represents an indication of the local and international investors’ trust in the bank’s future, based on the successes Warba has realised over the past few years.
The bank has been able to establish an advanced concept of Islamic industry and reinforced its investment measures since its inception, he said.
Al-Ghanem said the sukuk will be listed in the Irish stock market and Nasdaq Dubai.
Al Ghanem also explained that the bank has entered into agreement with a leading international consultancy company to put together a new strategy for the bank until 2021. This new strategy is based on paving the way for Warba to be the leading Islamic bank in Kuwait for corporate and investment banking as well as digital first retail business by boosting its digital infrastructure capabilities.
The strategy focuses on consolidating the bank’s operations in the sectors of corporate and investment while expanding in the local market by means of services and products that target individuals and corporate in an appealing distinctive way. - TradeArabia News Service
