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UBA Kenya to tap Sh50bn parent company bond

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UBA Kenya managing director Isaac Mwige. FILE PHOTO | NMG

UBA Kenya says it intends to tap into the $500 million (Sh50 billion) Eurobond secured by its parent firm in an oversubscribed issue.

The Nigerian United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) raised the cash through the debut issue, which was 240 per cent oversubscribed.

“We see our subsidiary taking advantage of this significant fundraising to support some of the large tickets we have in our pipeline,” said managing director Isaac Mwige.

“We are looking to scale up our presence in manufacturing, energy, consumer goods market and commodity trading segments within the next few months.”

The five-year senior unsecured benchmark bond will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The bond that matures in June 2022 has a coupon rate of 7.75 per cent and is priced at an effective yield of 7.875 per cent. UBA Plc said in a statement that the pricing is seen as the best for Lagos debutant and is at par with the recent $1 billion bond issue by Nigeria.

Investors from the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US participated in the issue.

“This successful dollar-denominated offering further illustrates global investor confidence in the strong fundamentals of our Group. The…bond will complement our stable funding base and support the growth of our balance sheet and overall business,” said group managing director UBA Plc Kennedy Uzoka.