SHARJAH: The Government of Sharjah’s latest €500 million ($521 million) bond issuance drew strong investor demand, with orders surpassing €2.2 billion – more than four times the offering size.
The seven-year, fixed-rate Regulation S Senior unsecured bond was priced at 190 basis points (bps) over mid-swaps, tightening from the initial guidance of around 220 bps. ADCB, Bank of Sharjah, Crédit Agricole CIB, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, and J.P. Morgan acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners for the transaction.
This marks Sharjah’s second €500 million bond issuance following a sustainable bond offering in July 2024. The issuance, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq Dubai, is part of Sharjah’s strategy to establish a euro-denominated yield curve.
Proceeds from the bond will be used for budgetary purposes. The issuance size, at approximately 2.3 per cent of Sharjah’s total outstanding debt, helps limit refinancing risk.
Sharjah, the UAE’s third-largest emirate, had total outstanding debt of $23.7 billion as of December 2024. With the latest issuance, the emirate’s debt stock is set to rise further, reflecting its continued reliance on international capital markets.
