DUBAI/LONDON, July 5, (RTRS): Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO), the Gulf state’s largest investment company, has mandated NBK Capital and Kipco Asset Manage-ment for a Kuwaiti dinar bond, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.
The source, who declined to be identified, said the proposed bond must still be approved by the Capital Markets Authority.
KIPCO is considering a local currency bond issue worth up to 80 million dinars ($290 mln) with a maturity of three to seven years, Capital Standards rating agency said in a statement on its website on Monday.
It added that the structure of the issue and pricing of the proposed bond had yet to be finalised, but it rated the potential bond BBB+, subject to review based on the final prospectus.
A KIPCO spokesman was not immediately reachable.
In June, KIPCO’s chief financial officer told Reuters any fundraising would be linked to investment opportunities or to optimising funding costs.
KIPCO has total repayments in 2011 of $634 million, the company said in April, including a $350 million bond which was repaid that month and a club deal worth $300 million due in July, as well as a number of smaller term loan amortisations.
The company’s last bond issue under its Euro medium term notes (EMTN) programme was a 10-year $500 million bond in July last year at 9.5 percent.