Emaar Malls Sukuk Launched At Tight End Of Guidance

Pricing for the debut sukuk deal from the malls unit of Dubai’s Emaar Properties tightened further before launch, a document from lead managers said on Wednesday, as the firm used strong investor demand to drive down borrowing costs.

The $750 million Islamic bond for Emaar Malls Group, which has a 10-year lifespan, received orders worth more than $5.5 billion from investors, banks arranging the transaction said.

This allowed the pricing to be revised once again to the tight end of the 182.5-187.5 basis points over midswaps range given earlier on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to complete later in the day.

On Tuesday Emaar Malls, which also plans an initial public offer of shares in the coming months, set initial price thoughts for the sukuk in the area of midswaps plus 200 bps, which was tightened later that day to 190 bps over the same benchmark.

Bookrunners for the sukuk issue are Al Hilal Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, Morgan Stanley, First Gulf Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered.