UAE’s Etisalat To Raise Up To $500m Through 2019 Bond Tap

Abu Dhabi-based telecommunications operator Etisalat will raise up to $500 million through a re-opening of its June 2019 bond, which is expected to price later on Tuesday, a document from lead arrangers showed.

Price guidance for the issue has been set in the area of 80 basis points over midswaps, the document showed. The bonds will be fungible with those issued earlier in the series after 40 days.

Etisalat, rated Aa3/AA-/A+ by the main credit agencies, said in a statement to the stock exchange that it would issue bonds under its $7 billion global medium-term note programme. It did not provide any details.

HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi are bookrunners for the bond tap.

Last June, the company sold $4.3 billion worth of maiden bonds in four tranches with maturities ranging from five to 12 years, setting a record as the region’s biggest corporate issue ever.