GFH prices US$ 300 million 5-year sukuk

GFH Financial Group (GFH) yesterday said it has successfully priced a US$300 million 5-year sukuk driven by strong demand from international and local investors.

The issuance was supported by a ‘B’ rating from each of S&P and Fitch with strong demand from international investors, GFH said in a statement.

The order-book for the Certificates was oversubscribed 2.5 times exceeding US$750 million.

The proceeds, GFH said, will be used to enhance the financial position of the Group and to fund its next phase of growth.

Commenting, Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, said, “The proceeds of the Certificates will enable us to continue to build and deliver even greater value to our investors, shareholders and the economies in which we invest.”

The sukuks saw strong demand from international investors who were allocated 47 per cent of the issuance with the additional 53pc taken up by regional investors.

In terms of the types of investors, 61pc were fund managers and 39pc were financial institutions.

Sociéte Générale and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Global Coordinators. Furthermore, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, Kamco Investment Company K.S.C.P., Mashreqbank psc, SHUAA Capital psc, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank and Warba Bank K.S.C.P. acted as Joint Lead Managers.