Sharjah Islamic Bank plans $400 mln 5-year sukuk

Sharjah Islamic Bank plans $400 mln 5-year sukuk

Order books are above $2 billion - document; Pricing on sukuk seen at 287.5 bps over midswaps

May 18, 2011 3:40 by Reuters

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) plans to issue a $400 million Islamic bond, which will price on Wednesday, according to a document by the arranging banks.

Order books are above $2 billion with pricing on the five-year, dollar-denominated issue expected to be 287.5 basis points above midswaps, according to the document seen by Reuters.

The lender said in March it planned to issue an Islamic bond, or sukuk, of between $300 million to $500 million in a letter to the central bank.

The bank, which is based in one of the UAE’s northern emirates and listed on the Abu Dhabi bourse, mandated HSBC and Standard Chartered as joint lead managers for the sukuk.

SIB is rated BBB+ by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.

The Gulf sukuk market has struggled to pick up, despite a ambitious growth outlook for the industry, hampered by high profile defaults, the Dubai’s debt crisis and a wave of anti-government protests sweet the Middle East.

Issuance so far this year has been limited mainly to government-linked and high-rated bonds.

Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a AAA-rated entity, plans to issue a benchmark dollar-denominated Islamic bond which will also price on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; Editing by Amran Abocar)