ABK Launches Its Debut $500 Million Senior Unsecured Bond Issue

Dubai, UAE – April 1, 2017:  Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait K.S.C.P. (ABK) announced today the successful debut issue from its recently established US$1.5 billion Euro Medium-Term Note (EMTN) programme. The Bank is issuing a first Tranche benchmark of $500 Million under the programme, which is being jointly lead managed and arranged by Citibank, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
 
This is the debut bond issue for ABK and the first since its acquisition of Piraeus Bank – Egypt in 2015, and it has drawn strong interest from investors in SE Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Commenting on the launch, Mr Michel Accad, ABK’s Chief Executive, said: “ABK is the first Kuwaiti issuer to launch a bond following Kuwait’s recent successful debut sovereign bond, which has allowed investors to price off the sovereign yield curve.
 
Our plan is to use the proceeds of the issue to further diversify our funding sources and to better match the tenor of our assets through longer-dated liabilities.” 
Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has assigned a provisional senior unsecured foreign-currency rating of A2 to ABK’s EMTN programme, in line with ABK’s long-term deposit ratings of A2. 

ABK  is listed by Global Finance as one of the world’s Top 50 safest banks and one of the Top 10 safest banks in the Middle-East.