Mubasher: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has issued perpetual Tier 1 capital bonds at a total value of $300 million.
Issuing these bonds is expected to support ABK’s tier 1, being recallable in five years, according to a bourse disclosure on Monday.
This bond issue follows Basel III regulations, ABK noted.
Subscribing to ABK’s bonds issue started on 19 September, shortly after a premium price of 7.375% in Asian markets, while the indicative price at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was modified to 7.250%, which is the current price of the issue.
More than 71% of these bonds were distributed outside the region, with 46% going to the UK, 14% to Europe, 11% to Asia, in addition to 29% to regional investors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
It is noteworthy that Moody’s has given ABK’s bond issue a “Ba3” rating.
ABK last reported a 17.9% year-on-year rise in profits to KWD 9.08 million ($30.04 million) in the second quarter of 2018 from KWD 7.7 million ($25.47 million).
