QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions in the world has advised on Sukuk transactions in 2013 totalling US$ 3.5 billion, and expects another busy year in 2014, with increased activity from within and outside of the MENA region.
Mr Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest, commented: “2013 was a very exciting year for QInvest, which saw us involved, in close co-operation with Qatar Islamic Bank, in some of the largest and most successful Sukuk transactions of the year. More broadly, it was also a landmark year for the Islamic finance sector, as new markets have recognised the benefits as both a source of funding and as an investment. At QInvest, we think 2014 could be the year that sees Islamic finance become a much more mainstream product, and we have an exciting pipeline of deal flow that will see us working very closely with corporates and sovereigns that are looking for ways to diversify their funding through Islamic finance.”
During the year QInvest acted as joint lead manager and book runner for Ooredoo’s US$ 1.25 billion, five-year Sukuk, which was part of a US$ 2 billion program. This is Ooredoo’s first ever Islamic bond and was the first US$ Sukuk issued globally using an innovative airtime structure.
QInvest also acted for the Republic of Turkey as joint lead manager and book runner on the sovereign’s second Sukuk; a US$ 1.25 billion issuance which was 6.2 times oversubscribed and was a successful follow-on offering to the Republic’s first Sukuk in 2012.
In May, QInvest was one of the joint lead managers for Saudi Arabia based developer Dar Al-Arkan’s US$ 450 million Sukuk, an offering from an issuer that provides diversity to Sukuk investors being a rare sub-investment grade Sukuk. This followed on from QInvest’s co-manager role on Turkiye Finans’ US$ 500 million debut Sukuk issue.
These transactions form a key part of QInvest’s new strategy to deliver long term sustainable growth and reinforce the bank’s position as a leading Islamic financial institution.
Source: Press Release
