Dubai: Shuaa Capital said on Wednesday that along with other parties, it priced and issued Bahrain-based GFH Financial’s five-year sukuk at $300 million.

Shuaa, an asset management and investment banking platform that recently merged with Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG), said the sale of the Islamic bond held on January 21 was more than twice oversubscribed, with orders of over $700 million.

In the past 12 months, Shuaa has been mandated on several sukuk issuances, including a $135 million dollar-denominated five-year sukuk for Jabal Omar Development Company and a $135 million sukuk for The First Group, the lender said in a statement.

The sukuk saw strong participation from international investors who received 48 per cent of the allocation, with the remaining 52 per cent going to regional investors.

“The strong market demand and successful closure of the sukuk reflects market confidence in GFH and was supported by [the bank’s] S&P and Fitch ‘B’ rating,” GFH said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

GFH Financial Group, previously known as Gulf Finance House, is an Islamic investment bank headquartered in Bahrain Financial Harbour. The company also plans to invest $200 million in the privately-owned schools sector through its new investment platform, Britus Education.