Emirati investment bank, Shuaa Capital, in collaboration with Kuwait’s Global Investment House has closed its debut bond issue. The total size of the issue is for $25 million and was subscribed for by investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
"This is the first time we tap the capital markets in the region. The markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have seen a strong pick-up in new issuance this year and we expect this to continue and to play an active roll in its development," commented Iyad Duwaji, Shuaa Capital's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
He added "the importance of the issue lies in the fact that it was entirely structured and placed by regional financial institutions demonstrating not only the existence of investor appetite for this type of product but also the investment banking expertise."
The bonds will carry a floating rate of Libor plus two percent, have a term of three years and pay interest semi-annually. The issue was placed principally with institutions. The lead manager of the issue was Global Investment House in Kuwait with Shuaa Capital psc acting as co-lead.
Shuaa Capital was established in 1979, originally as an investment company to invest in and promote investment into the Arab World. It has since pursued its investment strategy by focusing initially on private equity investments and proprietary trading in Arab listed securities and later on the UAE and GCC markets.
Shuaa Capital was licensed by the UAE Central Bank in 2000 to offer a broad range of financial services and products in the country. Those services include underwriting of securities and other corporate finance activities, investment advisory services, fund and portfolio management; and brokerage of local and international securities.
Formerly known by its acronyms AGICO and Shuaa, the company assumed a new identity in April 2001 to consolidate both names and to identify itself more closely as a regional provider of financial advisory and management services to private and institutional investors. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
