Commercial Bank’s senior management team involved in the $750mn EMTN programme speaks to Gulf Times yesterday. The team members are Commercial Bank chief of staff and adviser to the CEO, Colin M Macdonald; Group chief financial officer, Rehan Ahmed Khan, executive general manager (Treasury & Investment) Parvez Khan; and senior assistant general manager and head of Investment & Trading, Asset & Liability Management, Mohamed Abu Khalaf.

By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter

The overwhelming response to Commercial Bank’s $750mn EMTN programme is a “vote of confidence” on the Qatari economy and a testament to its strategy, financial strength and prudent management, the bank’s senior management team has said.

Strong demand from investors at roadshows in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi helped Commercial Bank “tighten the price” and issue the notes at an “attractive” spread of 117 basis points (1.17%) over mid-swaps (MS).

The initial price was MS 135bps, which was revised down to 117bps with the orderbook reaching $3.25bn, representing 4.2 times oversubscription.

This is the “best pricing” achieved on a Qatar five-year dollar issuance since 2007, reflecting the “strong  appetite” investors have for Qatari issuers.

The senior executives’ team that led the roadshows comprised Commercial Bank chief of staff and adviser to the CEO, Colin M Macdonald; Group chief financial officer, Rehan Ahmed Khan; executive general manager (Treasury & Investment) Parvez Khan; and senior assistant general manager and head of Investment & Trading, Asset & Liability Management, Mohamed Abu Khalaf.

Speaking to Gulf Times here yesterday, the team members said the issuance achieved well-spread investor base, geographically.

Investors from the global community participated in the issue, with the majority of investors from the Middle East (38%) followed by Europe (24%), Asia (22%) and the UK (16%).  

For the first time, there was a “great deal of demand” from Asian investors including many professional bond fund managers.

Regional demand was also high. Qatari financial institutions have also shown great demand for the Commercial Bank EMTN programme.

Besides echoing a strong word of confidence in Qatar and the bank, the issuance helped “broaden the investor base” not only for Commercial Bank but also for future Qatari issuances. About half of the investors were new; they had never invested in Commercial Bank before.  

Bankers on the deal said the strong demand was due to the “timing of the transaction” as well as Commercial Bank’s “high quality”.

The team members said investors had queried about Qatar’s development projects and on issues related to FIFA World Cup in 2022.

“Qatar’s explanation on FIFA was well received. The vision of HH the Emir for Qatar was of particular interest for investors,” the team said.

The net proceeds of the issue will be used for general funding purposes to support the strategic growth plans of the bank.

“This is really envisaged to be used within Qatar. Clearly, the country is experiencing growth through infrastructure projects. This will continue. At Commercial Bank, we want to be involved in and support the country’s vision. Therefore, getting the funding at this time means we are well placed to support that growth in future,” the Commercial Bank team said.