Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Seeks $1.7 Billion Via Rights Issue - Bloomberg
State-backed Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC said it will proceed with a 6.1 billion dirham ($1.7 billion) rights issue after it gains the approval of its shareholders, a rare such offering by an Emirati lender.
The emirate’s second largest lender by assets plans to offer 592.2 million shares at 10.3 dirhams apiece, a 30% discount to its closing price on Sept. 4, according to a statement on Monday. ADCB shares slipped as much as 7.9% to 13.6 dirhams apiece following the news, the lowest level since April 7, before recovering to 13.8 dirhams apiece.
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company is the bank’s largest shareholder, with a stake of just under 61%, according to the bank’s website. Mubadala said it supported the move and would fully subscribe to its entitlement.
“ADCB’s capital increase via right issues of 6.1 billion dirhams should support the lender’s strong growth trajectory (13% on average by 2029), aided by the UAE’s growing project pipeline, possible M&A to help scale up operations and meet a 50-bp higher capital requirement next year without compromising dividends,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Edmond Christou wrote in a note.
Such transactions are relatively rare among Emirati lenders. United Arab Bank completed a $280 million rights issue in March, while Emirates NBD also had a rights issue in 2019.
A rights offering gives existing investors a chance to purchase additional stock in proportion to their current holdings.
ADCB’s board approved the transaction on Monday and will seek shareholder approval on Oct. 13.
ADCB in recent years had to cope with the fallout of a number of high-profile corporate restructurings in the country. For example, it held almost $1 billion in exposure to hospital operator NMC and was also a creditor to Arabtec, the builder that collapsed in late 2020. In subsequent years, the bank sought to repair its balance sheet by selling large non-performing loan portfolios.
Monday, 8 September 2025
#SaudiArabia PIF Wealth Fund to Sell Dollar Bonds Amid Oil Price Shock - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia PIF Wealth Fund to Sell Dollar Bonds Amid Oil Price Shock - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is set to sell international bonds to help finance its investment plans, adding to a recent wave of Saudi issuance from entities including local banks and the sovereign.
The Public Investment Fund is offering 10-year dollar bonds at initial price talk of around 120 basis points over US Treasuries. The institution previously sold $4 billion of debt in January, and signed a $7 billion Islamic loan with 20 banks around the same time.
It also recently introduced a commercial paper program and has been raising cash by selling stakes in portfolio firms. The PIF is also looking to list some of its companies as it seeks to drive spending in the kingdom amid low oil prices that are complicating efforts to diversify the economy.
The PIF is the main entity tasked with executing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda to shift away from oil and into a more diverse range of industries. The International Monetary Fund said in August that the PIF is expected to continue spending at least $40 billion a year on domestic investment, which “is going to help keep growth positive and robust compared to what’s happening elsewhere.”
Monday’s offering follows $20 billion in sales of dollar- and euro-denominated debt from the Saudi government this year — the most among emerging markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The latest move also adds to a pick-up in syndicated loan activity and a fresh wave of local bank issuance.
Countries and companies in the developing world have been rushing to sell bonds at the fastest clip in at least a decade, taking advantage of high appetite for emerging-market assets to issue debt amid what investors say could be sharper swings ahead in global debt markets. Saudi Arabia so far has borrowed the most among all emerging-market countries.
Financing needs for the world’s biggest oil exporter are increasingly pressing, with Brent prices down more than 10% this year to around $66 a barrel as of Monday.
“Soft US labor-market data and the greater expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts make it a favorable time for the PIF to return to the international debt market,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
There was strong international demand for last week’s $5.5 billion sovereign issuance, with investors placing about $17.5 billion of orders. That will likely also be the case for the PIF, and overseas borrowing will remain “important” for the kingdom’s transformation plans, according to Malik. Order books for the PIF sale on Monday were in excess of $7 billion.
“Greater external borrowing will help to reduce the further tightening liquidity pressures on Saudi banks,” Malik said.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is set to sell international bonds to help finance its investment plans, adding to a recent wave of Saudi issuance from entities including local banks and the sovereign.
The Public Investment Fund is offering 10-year dollar bonds at initial price talk of around 120 basis points over US Treasuries. The institution previously sold $4 billion of debt in January, and signed a $7 billion Islamic loan with 20 banks around the same time.
It also recently introduced a commercial paper program and has been raising cash by selling stakes in portfolio firms. The PIF is also looking to list some of its companies as it seeks to drive spending in the kingdom amid low oil prices that are complicating efforts to diversify the economy.
The PIF is the main entity tasked with executing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda to shift away from oil and into a more diverse range of industries. The International Monetary Fund said in August that the PIF is expected to continue spending at least $40 billion a year on domestic investment, which “is going to help keep growth positive and robust compared to what’s happening elsewhere.”
Monday’s offering follows $20 billion in sales of dollar- and euro-denominated debt from the Saudi government this year — the most among emerging markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The latest move also adds to a pick-up in syndicated loan activity and a fresh wave of local bank issuance.
Countries and companies in the developing world have been rushing to sell bonds at the fastest clip in at least a decade, taking advantage of high appetite for emerging-market assets to issue debt amid what investors say could be sharper swings ahead in global debt markets. Saudi Arabia so far has borrowed the most among all emerging-market countries.
Financing needs for the world’s biggest oil exporter are increasingly pressing, with Brent prices down more than 10% this year to around $66 a barrel as of Monday.
“Soft US labor-market data and the greater expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts make it a favorable time for the PIF to return to the international debt market,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
There was strong international demand for last week’s $5.5 billion sovereign issuance, with investors placing about $17.5 billion of orders. That will likely also be the case for the PIF, and overseas borrowing will remain “important” for the kingdom’s transformation plans, according to Malik. Order books for the PIF sale on Monday were in excess of $7 billion.
“Greater external borrowing will help to reduce the further tightening liquidity pressures on Saudi banks,” Malik said.
#AbuDhabi’s Mubadala Launches Up To $920 Million Du Stake Sale - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Launches Up To $920 Million Du Stake Sale - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. had demand for all shares on offer in a sale of part of its stake in telecom operator Du that could draw as much as $920 million, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.
The wealth fund is offering a 7.55% stake or 342 million shares in Du, officially known as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co PJSC, at between 9 and 9.90 dirhams each, according to a statement. At the higher end of the range, which matches its closing price on Thursday, it could raise as much as 3.39 billion dirhams ($920 million).
Du’s stock slipped 3% following the news, but remains 28% up year-to-date.
Mubadala owns roughly 10% of Du through its Mamoura Diversified Global Holding unit. It previously cut its Du stake in 2019, when it sold 10% — then worth about $630 million — to the Emirates Investment Authority.
The offering will “significantly increase” Du’s free float and help diversify its investor base and improve liquidity, the company said in the announcement.
Institutional and retail book building is expected to close on Sept. 12, with a final price announced on Sept. 15.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC are leading the transaction. Bloomberg News reported in March that Mubadala was working with banks on the deal.
Secondary share sales are becoming more frequent in the Middle East after a four-year boom in initial public offerings. In the UAE, follow-on offerings have outpaced IPOs this year, with nearly $3.8 billion raised through placements including two Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. subsidiaries and in First Abu Dhabi Bank. In Saudi Arabia, firms raised about $13 billion from two such deals in 2024.
Du was part of an earlier wave of IPOs in the UAE and raised 2.4 billion dirhams in 2006 through a Dubai listing. Emirates Investment Authority, the UAE’s federal wealth fund, remains its largest shareholder with a stake of just over 50%.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. had demand for all shares on offer in a sale of part of its stake in telecom operator Du that could draw as much as $920 million, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.
The wealth fund is offering a 7.55% stake or 342 million shares in Du, officially known as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co PJSC, at between 9 and 9.90 dirhams each, according to a statement. At the higher end of the range, which matches its closing price on Thursday, it could raise as much as 3.39 billion dirhams ($920 million).
Du’s stock slipped 3% following the news, but remains 28% up year-to-date.
Mubadala owns roughly 10% of Du through its Mamoura Diversified Global Holding unit. It previously cut its Du stake in 2019, when it sold 10% — then worth about $630 million — to the Emirates Investment Authority.
The offering will “significantly increase” Du’s free float and help diversify its investor base and improve liquidity, the company said in the announcement.
Institutional and retail book building is expected to close on Sept. 12, with a final price announced on Sept. 15.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC are leading the transaction. Bloomberg News reported in March that Mubadala was working with banks on the deal.
Secondary share sales are becoming more frequent in the Middle East after a four-year boom in initial public offerings. In the UAE, follow-on offerings have outpaced IPOs this year, with nearly $3.8 billion raised through placements including two Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. subsidiaries and in First Abu Dhabi Bank. In Saudi Arabia, firms raised about $13 billion from two such deals in 2024.
Du was part of an earlier wave of IPOs in the UAE and raised 2.4 billion dirhams in 2006 through a Dubai listing. Emirates Investment Authority, the UAE’s federal wealth fund, remains its largest shareholder with a stake of just over 50%.
Gulf markets fall as rate cut optimism fades; #Saudi index near two-year low | Reuters
Gulf markets fall as rate cut optimism fades; Saudi index near two-year low | Reuters
Major Gulf stock markets gave up early gains to close down on Monday, as investor optimism over a U.S. rate cut and higher oil prices gave way to concerns about excess crude supplies.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab fell 0.9% to its lowest level in nearly two years, pressured by broad-based sectoral losses.
Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab, the world's largest Islamic lender, and oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab both fell 0.9%. Elsewhere, Theeb Rent a Car (4261.SE), opens new tab dropped more than 2% as its shares traded ex-dividend.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab also retreated 0.9%, with nearly all sectors closing in negative territory. Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab led the losses, falling almost 3%.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, better known as du, declined 3% after it launched a secondary share sale as one of its main investors, a Mubadala subsidiary, trims its holding. The transaction could generate about AED 3.39 billion ($923 million), with du receiving no proceeds from the sale.
Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab edged down 0.7%.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB.AD), opens new tab tumbled 7.5% - its steepest fall in more than three years - after the UAE's third-largest bank by assets proposed a rights issue priced 30% below the last close, aiming to raise 6.1 billion dirhams ($1.66 billion).
Qatar stock index (.QSI), opens new tab declined 0.6%, hit by a 0.7% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's expected rate cut next week - driven by weaker U.S. job growth and a rise in unemployment to a near four-year high of 4.3% - initially appeared supportive for sentiment.
However, investor optimism waned during the session as traders had already fully priced in a 25-basis point (bp) cut, with just an 8% chance of a larger 50-bp move, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The Fed's stance carries heavy clout in the Gulf, where most currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, anchoring regional monetary policy.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab rebounded 0.4%, supported by a 1.9% gain in Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab.
Major Gulf stock markets gave up early gains to close down on Monday, as investor optimism over a U.S. rate cut and higher oil prices gave way to concerns about excess crude supplies.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab fell 0.9% to its lowest level in nearly two years, pressured by broad-based sectoral losses.
Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab, the world's largest Islamic lender, and oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab both fell 0.9%. Elsewhere, Theeb Rent a Car (4261.SE), opens new tab dropped more than 2% as its shares traded ex-dividend.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab also retreated 0.9%, with nearly all sectors closing in negative territory. Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab led the losses, falling almost 3%.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, better known as du, declined 3% after it launched a secondary share sale as one of its main investors, a Mubadala subsidiary, trims its holding. The transaction could generate about AED 3.39 billion ($923 million), with du receiving no proceeds from the sale.
Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab edged down 0.7%.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB.AD), opens new tab tumbled 7.5% - its steepest fall in more than three years - after the UAE's third-largest bank by assets proposed a rights issue priced 30% below the last close, aiming to raise 6.1 billion dirhams ($1.66 billion).
Qatar stock index (.QSI), opens new tab declined 0.6%, hit by a 0.7% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's expected rate cut next week - driven by weaker U.S. job growth and a rise in unemployment to a near four-year high of 4.3% - initially appeared supportive for sentiment.
However, investor optimism waned during the session as traders had already fully priced in a 25-basis point (bp) cut, with just an 8% chance of a larger 50-bp move, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The Fed's stance carries heavy clout in the Gulf, where most currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, anchoring regional monetary policy.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab rebounded 0.4%, supported by a 1.9% gain in Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab.
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