Qatar Petroleum issues yen bond

Qatar Petroleum

Qatar Petroleum has issued privately a 10-year, 85 billion Japanese yen ($1 billion) bond, a legal adviser to the state-owned energy company said Tuesday. The so-called samurai bond-yen-denominated debt sold by non-Japanese companies-was guaranteed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), White & Case LLP said in an emailed statement. Daiwa, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Nomura and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were the banks mandated on the deal, it added. This issue is the first ever Japanese yen bond issued by a Qatari entity, the law firm noted. Following Qatar’s dual-tranche, $4 billion sovereign Islamic bond, or sukuk, issue in July, Sean Johnson, a partner at the law firm, said the yen-denominated transaction showed “the strong investor interest in Qatari capital markets issuances”. Qatar Petroleum, which owns and manages the Arab Gulf state’s oil and gas assets, declined to comment.

Al-Ahlia Holding Co

Kuwait’s Al-Ahlia Holding Co. is seeking to restructure its debt before December 31 — the date on which it will be delisted it doesn’t fix its financial problems, Kuwait-based Al Jarida daily reports Wednesday, citing an executive. Al-Ahlia did its best to settle a debt of 82 million Kuwaiti dinars ($291.6 million) through asset swaps but creditors haven’t agreed yet, the paper said, quoting Faisal Al Awadi, chairman of the investment and asset management firm. Some of the company’s shareholders asked for its liquidation during an annual general meeting held Tuesday that elected a new board and approved the non-distribution of dividends for 2011, the daily reports.

Coast Investment

Coast Investment & Development Co., a Kuwaiti securities and property-investment company, is negotiating with creditor banks to reschedule its debt, according to a statement to the Kuwait Stock Exchange today.

Kufpec

Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., or Kufpec, has signed a letter of intent with Pakistan’s ministry of petroleum and natural resources to own and operate an exploration block in the South Asian country, Kuwait-based Al Qabas daily reports Wednesday citing Kufpec’s parent company, the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp, or KPC. KPC, which has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan for cooperation in the oil sector, said that the block is located in Pakistan’s Sindh Basin which is rich in hydrocarbon reserves, the paper reports. This block will be an addition to Kufpec’s operations in Pakistan where it produces 42,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day, KPC said according to the daily. It added that Kufpec is the second largest [foreign] oil and gas producer in Pakistan.

Gulf Bank

Gulf Bank has been mandated as a lead manager to help finance two energy projects in Kuwait worth a combined $2 billion, the Gulf state lender’s chief executive said”One is in the oil sector and one is in the power sector. One is a bit less than $1 billion, the other is a bit more than a billion. So, the total is roughly $2 billion,” Michel Accad told Reuters in an interview. The deals, if they go through, will increase Gulf Bank’s market share in corporate and project financing in the local market despite deep concerns over government willingness to speed up long-awaited infrastructure projects. Kuwait’s third-largest lender is still waiting for the final approval and hopes to bring at least one deal to the market before year end, Accad said. “The other is a long lead time so it is going to be in the first or second quarter of next year.”Years of political infighting have held up investment in the major oil producer including a 30 billion dinar ($107 billion) development plan aimed at boosting and diversifying the economy. Gulf Bank, historically reliant on consumer and corporate banking in its home market, does not have plans to expand outside of the country, and hopes to grow revenue from investment banking activities, namely corporate financing and debt advisory, Accad said.”Today it (corporate financing revenue) is very marginal but we expect it to be 5-10 percent over the next couple of years,” he said, adding corporate banking accounting for around 70 percent of revenues, with the rest coming from consumer banking.

Somo

Iraq has cut the official selling prices of its Basra Light crude oil in October to buyers in the US and Europe, while it has raised the price for customers in Asia, the State Oil Marketing Organization, or Somo, said. Meantime, Somo has raised the price of Kirkuk crude oil to customers in the US and Europe, Somo said in a statement emailed to Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. The price of Basra Light Crude for delivery to Europe in October was cut by $1.60 a barrel to $4.10 a barrel below Dated Brent, from minus $2.50 a barrel in September, it said. The October OSP for US customers was cut by $0.20 a barrel to $1.70 a barrel below the Argus Sour Crude Index, or ASCI, from minus $1.50 a barrel in September. Basra Light crude October OSP for delivery to Asian buyers was set at a flat price to the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, up from minus $0.05 a barrel in the previous month, the Somo statement said. Kirkuk crude destined for the European market in October was raised by $1.10 a barrel to $1.75 a barrel below Dated Brent, from minus $0.65 a barrel in September. For US customers the price for Kirkuk crude in October was raised by $0.05 a barrel to $0.75 a barrel above ASCI, from $0.70 a barrel above ASCI.