UPDATE 2-Bahrain's nogaholding plans new sukuk issue, offers cash for existing notes

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Updates with details of new debt sale) By Yousef Saba DUBAI, May 15 (Reuters) - Bahrain's state oil holding firm, nogaholding, is planning a sale of U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bonds and has offered to tender existing notes for cash, a bank document and filing showed on Monday. The tender offer is conditional on the completion of the new debt sale, in which nogaholding will offer sukuk maturing in seven or 10 years. Nogaholding will buy "any and all of" its $750 million bonds that were issued in 2018, subject to conditions, the filing said. The tender offer and new issuance are aimed at managing the firm's balance sheet and maturity profiles, the filing said. For the new sukuk issue, Bank ABC, Citi, FAB, HSBC, JPMorgan and National Bank of Bahrain will arrange investor calls, including a global investor call on Monday, the bank document on the planned debt sale showed. Bondholders have until May 22 to tender their paper. Pricing and allocation of the new bonds is expected before then, the filing on the tender offer said. Nogaholding made a net profit of $1.059 billion last year after $466 million in 2021 and a net loss of $130 million in 2020, according to an investor presentation. The company has hired Boston Consulting Group to help develop a national energy strategy for Bahrain and an operational strategy for nogaholding. In November, nogaholding CEO Mark Thomas told Reuters those strategies were likely to be decided in six months, with implementation to begin a year later. "Junk"-rated Bahrain, a small non-OPEC oil producer, is one of the most indebted countries in the region. High oil prices last year helped bring its fiscal deficit down 81.3% to $474 million, the investor presentation showed. (Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.