- Five-year CNY 1.5 billion bond at 3.15%
- Upsized to CNY 1.5 billion from target size of CNY 1 billion
- Lowest coupon on a five-year public CNY issued by a MENA bank
Abu Dhabi, 12 January 2021: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE's largest bank and one of the world's largest and safest financial institutions, has issued the year’s first Chinese Yuan (CNY) in the Formosa bond market with a CNY 1.5 billion five-year bond at 3.15%. This deal also represents the lowest coupon paid by a MENA bank on a public CNH five-year issuance.
The successful offering was upsized to CNY 1.5 billion from a target size of CNY 1 billion. The majority of investors comprised both onshore Taiwanese and Asian investors and was well diversified amongst life insurers, banks, fund managers and securities houses. The deal was opportunistically executed based on demand in the Formosa market as well as the CNY-USD swap level which enabled FAB to issue inside their curve when swapped to USD.
Rula Al Qadi, Managing Director and Head of Group Funding at FAB, commented: “We are very pleased to have issued the first CNY deal of the year in the Formosa market. FAB has always been very well received in the Formosa market whether issuing in CNY or USD and we tend to be a frequent issuer in this market as a commitment to the Taiwanese and broader Asian investors. This deal is once again a tremendous success because it is the lowest coupon ever on a five-year public CNY bond issued by a MENA bank and, on a swapped to USD basis, it comes well inside of our funding curve.”