Qatar Issues $3Bn International Bonds; Issuance 5.8 Times Oversubscribed

Qatar 'acting through' the Ministry of Finance, announced the completion of the issuance of $3bn dollar-denominated bonds across two maturities.

The issuance attracted strong demand from existing and new investors and underpinned Qatar’s global investor appeal as one of the highest rated sovereigns in emerging markets.

The issuance included a $1bn tranche maturing in three years with a coupon rate of 4.50% and a $2bn tranche maturing in 10 years with a coupon rate of 4.875%.

The rates represent a 30-basis points spread over 3-year US Treasuries, and a 45-basis points spread over 10-year US Treasuries, having started with an initial price target of 60 basis points for the three-year tranche and 80 basis points for the 10-year tranche.

The orderbooks reached a peak at $17.5bn, which allowed price tightening of 30bps and 35bps from IPTs on the three-year and 10-year tranches respectively

According to the Ministry of Finance, the issuance was 5.8 times oversubscribed at the peak of demand, having attracted a diversified investor audience from across the MENA Region, the United States, UK/Europe and Asia.

“The spreads achieved by the State of Qatar represent the tightest spreads achieved by sovereign issuers in emerging markets so far this year, a testament to the deep trust international investors place in the State of Qatar’s financial stability and growth strategy,” the Ministry of Finance said.

Rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have assigned a credit rating of Aa2, AA and AA respectively to the bonds.

The bond issuance was managed by the global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners, JP Morgan, Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered Bank along with joint lead bookrunners: Banco Santander, Barclays, Citi, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and SMBC.