Date/Time
Date(s) - 30 December 2017
12:00 am
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Kuwait, December 30, 2017 — The EQUATE Group, a global producer of petrochemicals, earned regional recognition by receiving the Investment Grade Bond/Sukuk Deal of the Year Award at the 2017 GFC Media Middle East Awards in Dubai.
The award was for EQUATE’s debut issuance of $2.25 billion 144A and Reg S five-year and ten-year dual-tranche bond offering, which was issued during November 2016. The bond issuance is part of EQUATE’s long-term financial restructuring plan following the acquisition of MEGlobal in December 2015.
Phisanu Sermchaiwong, EQUATE’s Chief Financial Officer, commented on the recognition, “The award is a testament to EQUATE’s strong global status and financial position, as well as its significant contribution to the regional and international industrial sector, and debt capital markets (DCM). The Group’s strong position is further supported by investment-grade rating of Baa2 from Moody’s and BBB+ from Standard & Poor’s. We are very grateful to the financial community for this prestigious recognition of EQUATE’s achievements in the financial sector.”
EQUATE’s two-time oversubscribed bonds were the largest issuance by the private sector in the Arabian Gulf since 2014. The bonds are also the first ever 144A offering that was issued by a Kuwait-based corporation. The success of EQUATE’s bonds was followed by an international issuance of $500 million Sukuk (Islamic bonds) in February 2017 with a maturity date in 2024.
The EQUATE Group* is a global producer of petrochemicals and the world’s second largest producer of Ethylene Glycol (EG). The Group has industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that annually produce over 5 million tons of Ethylene, EG, Polyethylene (PE) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The EQUATE Group’s shareholders include Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).The Group is a leading enterprise that pursues sustainability wherever it operates through partnerships in fields that include the environment, economy and society. www.equate.com
* The EQUATE Group includes EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), its subsidiaries and The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC).
Organized by the GFC Media Group, the Bonds, Loans and Sukuk Middle East Awards are the only awards to recognize the best performers in the Middle Eastern, Conventional and Islamic Capital Markets since 2010. The awards’ selection committee comprises the most influential international investors and consultants in the banking and finance industry, renowned for excellence within their specialty and collectively bringing over a thousand years’ experience in capital markets..