DUBAI: HSBC's Middle East unit priced a $500 million Islamic bond on Thursday at 155 basis points above midswaps, carrying a maturity of five years. The Islamic bond, or sukuk, yielding 3.575 percent, saw regional investors taking up 58 percent of orders, followed by Asian investors with 29 percent. Banks constituted 61 percent of orders by investor type, while orders were split 55 percent and 45 percent by conventional and Islamic investors respectively. "As an issuer within the broader HSBC group we are very focused on diversification of stable funding," said Georges Elhedery, co-Head of Global Markets for the MENA region said in a statement. "The pricing, size and tenor are all in line with our expectations and form a valuable component of our funding." HSBC Middle East, a subsidiary of the UK-based lender, held roadshows last week in Asia, the Middle East and London gauge sentiment for a five-year Islamic bond, or sukuk as the lender looks to tap demand for Islamic paper. In October last year, HSBC Middle East raised $500 million from a conventional five-year bond issue at 3 percent.
