DUBAI: Qatar National Bank (QNB) is set to price a five-year bond of benchmark size on Wednesday after announcing initial price thoughts in the area of 135 basis points over mid-swaps, a document from lead managers showed.
Gulf banks have been tapping the bond market this year to help manage squeezed liquidity in the banking sector as lower oil prices have kept governments from placing large oil receipts on deposit. In many cases, oil revenue has been withdrawn to help bridge budgetary shortfalls.
QNB’s proposed dollar-denominated deal is being arranged by Barclays, HSBC, Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and Standard Chartered, as well as QNB’s own investment banking unit, the document said.
The arranger list was confirmed in a subsequent stock market filing from QNB, which added that the transaction will be issued under the bank’s Euro Medium Term Notes programme.
Benchmark size is usually understood to mean upwards of $500 million.
Both Kuwait’s Burgan Bank and Sharjah Islamic Bank have announced plans to issue a bond and sukuk, respectively, in the coming days and Emirates Islamic Bank completed a $250-million sukuk trade on Tuesday.
