off-the-wire

UPDATE 2-Abu Dhabi's TAQA launches $1.5bln dual-tranche bond

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds launch size and pricing) DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as TAQA , launched a $1.5 billion two-tranche bond on Monday, taking advantage of strong investor demand for the deal which allowed the company to tighten pricing from earlier guidance. TAQA sold $500 million in a long five-year portion at a spread of 80 basis points (bps) over Treasuries, and a $1 billion, 10-year green bond at 110 bps over Treasuries, a bank document showed. Both spreads were tightened around 10 bps from previous guidance.


The combined order books totalled almost $15 billion. TAQA, an integrated utility company majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi government, mandated banks last week for the senior, unsecured bond issue following the publication of its green finance framework. Proceeds from the five-year tranche will be for general corporate purposes while the 10-year green bond will be used to finance projects as set out in the framework. Debt issuers in the Gulf have rushed back to markets during a typically slow period during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, taking advantage of lower yields and favourable market dynamics. Interest in issuing green bonds in the region has also grown as the UAE gears up to host the COP28 climate summit this year.


TAQA mandated BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Scotiabank, SMBC Nikko and Standard Chartered Bank as bookrunners and lead managers. First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank are joint green structuring advisers.
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal, Editing by Louise Heavens and John Stonestreet)

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