Hong Kong’s Noble Group completes maiden Sukuk sale (By IFN)

Thursday 18^th October 2012

GLOBAL: Hong Kong-headquartered Noble Group, a supply chain manager of natural resources, completed the issuance of its inaugural Sukuk on the 16th October 2012, marking a rare move by a Chinese firm to tap the Islamic finance market. The company, which is also listed in Singapore, issued RM300 million (US$98.66 million)-worth of Shariah compliant notes under the first series of a 20-year Islamic securities program of up to RM3 billion (US$986.64 million) or its equivalent in foreign currency. Its debut Sukuk, structured as a Murabahah, has a three-year tenor and will pay a profit rate of 4.5%. AmInvestment Bank and Standard Chartered Saadiq were the joint lead arrangers and joint principal advisors of the Malaysian-issued notes, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as the international financial advisor to Noble. While Chinese firms’ involvement in Islamic finance is uncommon, this is not Noble’s first foray into the Islamic finance space, nor is it the company’s first exposure to the Malaysian market. In 2008, it secured a US$80 million syndicated revolving commodity Murabahah facility from five banks including Kuwait Finance House Malaysia. The company set up its Sukuk program in March this year. RAM has assigned a final long-term rating of ‘AA2’ to the program, supported by Noble’s position as a leading global bulk commodity supply-chain provider. “The rating also reflects Noble’s solid liquidity position and substantial financial flexibility,” said RAM, adding that the company’s strong commitment to risk management has enabled it to remain profitable amid the economic downturn.