By John Lee. Qatar's Ooredoo, Kuwait's Zain Group and TASC Towers Holding of Dubai are to create the largest tower company in the MENA region, in a cash and share deal. The enlarged tower company, comprising approximately 30,000 towers, has a combined estimated current enterprise value of USD 2.2 billion. Ooredoo and Zain will equally […]
Tag Archives | Citigroup
Iraq Borrows $360m to Reduce Gas Flaring
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing in Basrah Gas Company (BGC) to support one of the largest gas flaring reduction projects in the world, helping to improve energy access, prevent associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support a more resilient, sustainable energy sector in Iraq. BGC is […]
Huge Demand for Iraqi Govt Bonds
By John Lee. Iraq opened the books yesterday on its first independent bond sale in a decade. "Investor demand was huge," writese Marcus Ashworth at Bloomberg. "The deal was seven times oversubscribed." The $1-billion, dollar-denominated bond, maturing in March 2023, was expected yield 7 percent, but demand enabled that to be cut to 6.75 percent. […]
Iraq to sell new USD Govt Bonds
By John Lee. The Financial Times reports that Iraq has appointed Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners for a new five-year government bond. The issue is described as a dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond; investor meetings scheduled over the coming days. In January, Iraq raised $1 billion of five-year bonds, guaranteed by the US, […]
Iraq Plans New Bond Issuance
By Simon Kent. Iraqi Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alak has said that Iraq is issuing bonds to the value of around $2 billion in the next few months, following last year's aborted issuance after investors demanded too high a yield. At the time, investors demanded an 11% yield on the bonds, and the issuance was handled […]
Standard Chartered in talks on $2bn Iraq Bond Sale
By John Lee. The CEO of Standard Chartered in Iraq has said that the bank is in talks with Iraq’s Finance Ministry to take part in a $2-billion bond sale this year. Andreas Meletiou also told Bloomberg that the London-based bank is also holding talks with other government institutions about their financing needs. A planned […]
Iraq Ready to Market Bonds
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraqi officials are planning to start marketing a new Eurobond following the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., which falls on 7th September. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase are to be the lead managers for the deal, which is expected to be unsecured. Iraq is hoping to raise […]
Int'l Banks hired for $6bn Bond Sale
By John Lee. The Iraqi government has reportedly appointed three major international banks to advise on its first international bond issue in almost a decade. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase will assist in placing $6 billion (7.2 trillion Iraqi dinars) of new government bonds, in an attempt to bridge the budget deficit. According to […]
Iraq Seeks Credit Rating before Bond Issue
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq is approaching credit rating agencies to obtain a sovereign credit rating as it prepares for its first international bond sale for nine years. Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told the news agency: "We started the process ... The banks are also trying to help us in that direction.” […]
Iraq to Issue $5bn in Bonds
By John Lee. Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) said on Wednesday that Iraq has decided to issue $5 billion in international bonds, as it attempts to finance a budget deficit of $25 billion for the current year. He told reporters in Washington that negotiations were in progress with Citibank and Deutsche Bank, but according to […]
Citi to Advise on $2bn Loan for Boeing Jets
By John Lee. The Deputy Transport Minister, Bangen Rekani, has told Bloomberg that Iraq will seek $2 billion in financing to cover part of the cost of the 40 jets it has on order from Boeing. Iraq ordered 30 737-800s in 2008, followed by 10 787-8 long-haul Dreamliners in 2009, and a single 777 in 2012 -- […]
Eversheds Advises Citi on Iraq Venture
Global law firm Eversheds has advised Citibank [Citigroup] on the registration of its representative office in Baghdad, Iraq, making it the first US bank to establish a presence in the country. According to Citi's press release, the representative office in the Iraqi capital will support Citi’s clients in the country, and the New York-based bank […]