DOHA: Al Khaliji Commercial Bank won shareholder assent yesterday to issue up to $1.75bn in bonds which its chief executive said would be used for financing activities in the country.
Bond issuance from Qatari borrowers has been rare in the last 18 months as entities cut back on their international debt and banks have been flush with cash from local deposits so were in no need of outside funding.
Only one borrower tapped the market in 2014 — Commercial Bank of Qatar, which completed a $750m deal in June.
Any deal is therefore likely to be well-received by investors looking to gain access to the economy, which is expected to continue benefiting from high state spending on development schemes and projects related to hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup.
“The majority (of the cash) will be used for financing internally because the main focus of the bank is to invest inside Qatar,” Fahad Al Khalifa, the bank’s chief executive, told its annual shareholder meeting.
Speaking after the meeting, Khalifa said part of the $1.75bn allowance could be sold this year, although he declined to give specifics. “We will hit the market for sure and have a roadshow and see how are the prices, the attitude and appetite of the market,” Khalifa said.
Al Khaliji has issued one international bond previously, selling a $500m five-year deal in October 2013. It was trading to yield 2.685 percent at 1445 GMT, according to data. The bank reported a 2.2 percent increase in net profit for 2014 last month and Khalifa said he was optimistic the bank would record further growth in 2015.
“I hope, God willing, that we will continue our growth and I expect that profits will be better than last year,” he said, declining to give a specific percentage.
Reuters
