MANAMA: International law firm Clifford Chance advised on the issuance of US$500 million 3.625% notes due 2021 by ABQ Finance Limited and guaranteed by Ahli Bank QSC. Ahli Bank is a conventional bank in Qatar and offers a wide range of wholesale and retail banking products and services to its customers based primarily in Qatar.
The issuance completed on 13 April 2016 and the Notes were admitted to listing and trading on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Notes were issued under Ahli Bank’s US$1.5 billion Guaranteed Euro Medium Term Note Programme which was established on 24 March 2016. The deal marks Ahli Bank’s debut issuance in the international capital markets.
“This successful issue is an important milestone for our bank. We have initiated a stable funding structure and broadened our relationships with over 100 leading institutional investors in the Middle East, Asia, the UK and Europe. We thank Clifford Chance and our wider advisory team for their support throughout this debut issue,” said, Salah Murad, CEO at Ahli Bank.
“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to advise the team at Ahli Bank on this successful transaction which demonstrated positive investor demand and strong international support of Ahli Bank as illustrated by a high quality order book and 2.4 times oversubscription. This is an important step for Ahli Bank in achieving its strategic goals and diversifying its funding,” Clifford Chance Partner, Stuart Ure, Head of Capital Markets, Middle East, added.
