Gulf Bank issues KD 100 mln bonds

KUWAIT, May 31 (KUNA) -- The Gulf Bank said Tuesday it successfully issued KD 100 million bonds, complying with the Basel III criteria.
KAMCO Investment Company and Kuwait Finance Center, or Markaz, acted as joint lead manager for the issuance of the 10-year non-callable before five years bonds.
The Gulf Bank said this was the first public issuance and would provide the Bank with a prudent balance between the different components of its capital, in order to continue enhancing earnings and shareholder returns.
The transaction was oversubscribed and well received by institutional and high net worth investors. This is the third KD denominated Tier II, Basel III compliant debt issuance in Kuwait.
Faisal Sarkhou, Chief Executive Officer of KAMCO, said, "We consider this bond issuance to be yet another building block in supporting the Kuwait capital markets." Manaf Al-hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of Markaz said, "We cannot emphasize enough the importance of developing a bond market that could contribute to the stability of investment portfolios and fixed income funds. Therefore, we at Markaz have been spearheading efforts to deepen the local debt market through structuring and managing new bond issuances, in addition to publishing research and periodical reports about bonds activities in the region." The Bonds are comprised of two tranches; Fixed and Floating.
The Fixed Rate Tranche coupons are fixed for the first five years from date of issue at 6.50 percent per annum payable quarterly in arrears, and fixed for subsequent periods at CBK Discount Rate (on the date of the fifth anniversary from date of issue) plus 4.25 percent per annum, payable quarterly in arrears.
The Floating Rate Tranche coupon rate is equal to CBK Discount Rate, determined every three month, plus four percent payable quarterly in arrears. (end) fnk.bs