Doha Bank, a leading private commercial bank in the GCC, has announced that its $500m senior bond issue was oversubscribed by nearly eight times. His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohammed Bin Jabor Al-Thani, the Chairman of Doha Bank, said: "We have successfully completed the Senior bond issue of $500m under Doha Bank's Euro Medium Term Note Programme (EMTN) of $2bn through arrangers Morgan Stanley and J P Morgan." He added: "The Bond is listed on London Stock Exchange. The proceeds will be used for general funding purposes required to support the bank's growth plans." His Excellency Sheikh Abdul Rehman Bin Mohammad Bin Jabor Al-Thani, Managing Director of Doha Bank said: "The issue generated an overwhelming response from investors in Asia, the Middle East and Europe resulting in oversubscription of the bond by nearly 8 times. It shows the exceptionally high profile of Qatar and Doha Bank in the global market space." R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank Group, said "The Senior 5-year bond carries a coupon of 3.5% and was issued at a spread of 262.5 basis points over Mid Swaps. This landmark deal is a follow up issue from Doha Bank's previous debut subordinated bond issue of $340m in 2006." He added: "Doha Bank's successful bond issue follows perfectly executed road shows in major financial centers in Asia, the Middle East and Europe including Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, London, Zurich and Geneva. Leading investors comprising of banks, investment funds and other financial institutions invested in Doha Bank's bond. We received over 250 orders from institutions globally which speaks volumes on the faith of global investors in the bank's strong performance in recent years, its strategy, franchise and leading market position along with the impressive economic growth in Qatar." Doha Bank is the third largest conventional Bank in Qatar. Total assets of the bank as of December 31, 2011, were QR52.4bn and total shareholders' equity for the same period was QR 7.1bn with a net profit of QR1.24 bn. The return on average shareholders' equity which was 22% and the return on average assets that was 2.49%. Moody's has assigned a rating of A2 to Doha Bank indicating strong credit quality of the bank. Press Release
