ACWA Power, one of the largest private water desalination company, won a prestigious award recognising the company’s success in raising SAR 1.8 billion ($479 million) through a sukuk issuance in February 2023.
The company took home the Local Currency Bond Deal of the Year award during the Capital Markets & ESG Finance awards ceremony by the GFC Media group held at the Fairmont Hotel in Riyadh on 6th February.
The sukuk issuance was part of a wider SAR 5 billion programme. It was oversubscribed by 2.2 times, which reflects investors’ trust, confidence, and faith in the Saudi debt capital markets as well as ACWA Power’s strong credit fundamentals as the leading energy transition player in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and various international markets.
The Sukuk issuance’s pricing was one of the lowest achieved by a private sector corporate issuer since 2017 with a double-digit spread over the base rate.
It had a unique structure with seven years tenor with a call option exercisable on the fifth anniversary of the issuance.
Marco Arcelli, ACWA Power CEO, said: “We are delighted to receive this award recognising the success of our maiden sukuk programme. It also underscores investor confidence in ACWA Power successfully leading the energy transition, driving technological advancements in renewable energy, and in turn creating value for our stakeholders.”
“For ACWA Power, ESG is at the heart of everything we do. Guided by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, we are dedicated to supporting a rapid and responsible transition to cleaner sources of energy,” he added.
Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, the company’s CFO, added: “I am immensely proud of ACWA Power’s success in financial structuring innovations and particularly in executing green and sustainable solutions. This award is proof of investors’ confidence in our robust business model and credit standing as evident from the diverse investor base that supported the Sukuk programme, including commercial banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and many others. We are thankful to our investors and wider stakeholders for their continuous support.” --OGN/TradeArabia News Service
