FGB, one of the leading banks in the UAE, has concluded a 5-year ¥10 billion bond as part of the USD 1 billion Tokyo Pro-Bond Market programme registered by the bank on June 11. The transaction took place on June 23 2014, and the bonds were priced with a coupon rate of 0.863% p.a.

HSBC Bank plc and Mizuho International plc led the transaction, which will be listed on June 27th 2014 under the USD 1 billion programme listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and registered under the First Gulf Bank P.J.S.C. USD 3,500,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme.

FGB is the first organization from the Middle East to issue under the new Tokyo Pro-Bond Market. The issuance quickly follows the bank’s first Australian market transaction, which took place earlier this year when FGB concluded its 5-year ‘Kangaroo’ bond issuance.

Andre Sayegh, CEO of FGB, said: “This debut issuance on the new Tokyo Pro-Bond Market is a key part of FGB’s ongoing strategy to diversify our sources of funding and expand into new markets. It complements our inaugural ‘Kangaroo’ 5-year bond issuance earlier this year perfectly and has been positively received by investors.”

He continued: “We’ve already made in-roads into Asia Pacific with our established, dedicated FGB Singapore branch and the conclusion of a Negotiable Certificate of Deposit (NCD) programme which allows the bank to raise funds across a diversified base when required and to reach out to a wider range of institutional investors. The new Tokyo bond issuance increases our visibility in the APAC market and builds on our profile within the region.”

In November 2013, FGB issued USD 500 million 5-year bonds under its USD 3.5 billion EMTN programme. The transaction was well-received by international investors with a total subscribed value of USD 1.4 billion and registered a final price for the bonds at 180 basis points above interpolated midswaps (bps). The bonds are set to mature in January 2019.

Furthermore, in October 2012, FGB received an overwhelming endorsement from investors for its USD 650 million 5-year EMTN bonds, at a total subscribed value of more than USD 2.7 billion.

The bank has also had two highly successful issuances of Sukuk (Islamic bonds): USD 650 million in July 2011 and USD 500 million in January 2012, which were both oversubscribed many times over.  

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