TAQA Group completes US$1.5 billion dual tranche 5-year and 10-year bond offering

ABU DHABI, 18th April, 2023 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced today the successful placement of an aggregate of US$1.5 billion in 5-year and 10-year dual-tranche senior unsecured notes.

The 10-year notes, sized at $1 billion and maturing on 24th April 2033, were issued at a coupon rate of 4.696%. These notes represent TAQA’s first green bond issuance and net proceeds of the issuance will be used to finance, refinance and invest in relevant eligible green projects, as outlined in the company’s Green Finance Framework.

The 5-year notes, sized at $500 million and maturing on 24th January 2029, were issued as conventional bonds at a coupon rate of 4.375%. Proceeds from these bonds will be used for general corporate purposes.

With a final order book approaching $15 billion, the transaction was almost 10 times oversubscribed with very strong demand from domestic, regional and international investors.

The Notes are expected to be rated Aa3 by Moody’s and AA- by Fitch, in line with the corporate credit ratings of the company.

The issuance was arranged and offered through a syndicate of joint lead managers and book runners comprising of BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Scotiabank, SMBC Nikko, and Standard Chartered.

In establishing it is Green Finance Framework, TAQA has received support from Citi, Standard Chartered Bank, MUFG, and HSBC as Joint Sustainability Structuring Banks alongside First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) as Sustainability Finance Framework Advisor.

Jasim Husain Thabet, TAQA’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said that TAQA has achieved competitive funding through its latest bond offering, which has garnered significant interest from investors across multiple capital markets. The company’s clear ESG strategy and decarbonisation agenda have enabled it to complete its first-ever green bond issuance, satisfying the growing demand for credible green investment opportunities.

“TAQA’s success in balancing ambitious growth targets with solid returns while working towards a net-zero future demonstrates the utility company’s commitment to sustainability in the ‘Year of Sustainability’,” he added.

Stephen Ridlington, TAQA’s Group Chief Financial Officer, commented, “The successful completion of this latest dual-tranche bond offering, which was several times oversubscribed, reinforces investors’ confidence in the financial fundamentals of TAQA. The Company has once again achieved very competitive funding rates and locked in interest rates largely in line with our existing corporate interest cost. We are pleased with these results, particularly considering the trend of rising interest rates since last year.”

TAQA has recently established the Green Finance Framework. Moody’s has issued a Second Party Opinion on the TAQA’s Green Finance Framework.