(Updates with final price guidance)
By Yousef Saba and Yoruk Bahceli
DUBAI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public
Investment Fund (PIF) is set to raise $5.5 billion through its
second sale of green bonds in four months, for which orders
topped $32.5 billion, one the banks running the deal said on
Tuesday.
The wealth fund was set to raise $1.75 billion in seven-year
paper at 115 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries (UST), $2
billion in a 12-year tranche at 145 bps over UST and $1.75
billion in 30-year bonds at 185 bps over UST, the bank said.
PIF is the chosen vehicle of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, to drive an economic
agenda aimed at cutting reliance on oil.
The wealth fund has raised tens of billions, including a $17
billion loan in November, to fund a mammoth investment programme
to create new industries and jobs, including building a planned
futuristic city in the desert known as NEOM.
Orders for the seven-year notes topped $15.2 billion, more
than $9.8 billion for the 12-year and over $7.5 billion for the
30-year paper, one of the lead banks said.
Initial price guidance was around 145 bps over 3.5% UST for
the seven-year notes, around 175 bps over 4.125% UST for the
12-year bonds and around 215 bps over 3% UST for the 30-year
tranche, a bank document earlier showed.
Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan and Standard
Chartered Bank were hired as global coordinators for
the debt sale expected to price later on Tuesday, the bank
document showed. Each tranche will be of benchmark size, which
typically means at least $500 million.
Also on the deal are BofA Securities, BNP Paribas, Citi,
First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley as active
bookrunners, as well as Credit Agricole, GIB Capital, ICBC
International Securities, Mizuho, SMBC Nikko and Societe
Generale as passive bookrunners.
PIF, which manages more than $600 billion in assets, raised
$3 billion in October with its debut bond sale, which was also a
green issue. That sale comprised tranches of five, 10 and 100
years - the first green bond of that tenor.
PIF expects to invest more than $10 billion by 2026 in
eligible green projects, including renewable energy, clean
transport and sustainable water management, an investor
presentation for the bonds sold in October showed.
By comparison, the fund has said it would invest about $40
billion domestically each year through 2025.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba in Dubai and Yoruk Bahceli in
Amsterdam; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)
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