Muscat: Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman, has announced the successful closure of its 5-year $500 million Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) bond programme at an attractive coupon rate of 4.75 per cent per annum.

The bond issue, which is part of a larger $ 2 billion EMTN programme announced earlier by the bank, received significant interest from the international investor community.

The issue was closed at favourable financing terms reflecting global investors’ strong appetite for the bank’s fundraising activities. The bond issue, which has a 5-year tenor, will be listed on Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange) and the funds raised will be used to support long-term US dollar funding for project finance and wider asset growth for the bank.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Waleed K. Al Hashar, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Muscat, said, “The successful issuance of this $500 million bond is a strong indicator of the Sultanate’s positive economic outlook and the confidence of the international investor community in Oman and Bank Muscat. This EMTN bond issue follows the success of senior unsecured loans of over $800 million raised from relationship banks across the globe in 2020. We are greatly encouraged by the strong investor response and confidence in Bank Muscat’s credit profile and strategy, and thank all our partners for the success of this issue.”

Bank ABC, Bank Muscat, Citi, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Mizuho, MUFG Bank and Standard Chartered Bank acted as the joint lead managers and book runners for this bond issue. The order book was about four times the issue size and saw excellent participation from high-quality investors in the Middle East, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and the US offshore, following a series of investor meetings.

Bank Muscat, which has the largest banking network in Oman covering retail, corporate, wholesale and Islamic banking operations, has been a keen participant in the economic growth and development of the Sultanate over the last four decades.

The bank has consistently demonstrated strength and stability in financials, ownership and management and is the only Domestic Systemically Important Bank (D-SIB) in Oman. Despite unprecedented macroeconomic challenges, the bank posted a net profit of OMR163.36 million for the year 2020 and was able to maintain a healthy Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of 228 per cent and Capital Adequacy Ratio of 20.77 per cent as of December 2020.