Saudi Electricity raises $2.2bn from new sukuk offering
RIYADH, February 8, 2024
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has announced the successful completion of its offer of dual-tranche sukuk, which helped it raise a total of $2.2 billion. The offering included dual-tranche five- and 10-year sukuk, as a part of the SEC's international sukuk programme.
SEC had conducted a virtual roadshow to which there was an overwhelming participation by international investors in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It presented its investment case, the company's ambitions, and the specifications of the potential sukuk, said the company in its statement.
The offer consisted of a 5-year sukuk tranche of $800 million priced at the fixed profit rate of 4.942% p.a. and a 10-year sukuk tranche of $1,400 million priced at fixed profit rate of 5.194% p.a.
The order book for the sukuk offering opened on February 6 and closed on the same day, attracting a total order book value in excess of $11 billion representing five times oversubscription, it stated.
On the solid response, SEC President and CEO Engneer Khaled Al Gnoon said: "We are delighted with the tremendous success of the sukuk offering. The high demand from international investors demonstrates a growing confidence in SEC’s credit profile underpinned by its essential role as the electricity service provider in the Kingdom and its contributions to the electricity sector in line with Vision 2030."
SEC has high investment grade credit ratings from international rating agencies, with credit ratings of A1, positive outlook, by Moody's, and A, stable outlook, by Fitch and Standard & Poor's.-TradeArabia News Service