QATAR Re, reinsurance arm of QIC wins Bond deal of the Year

14 December 2017 —
QATAR Re, the reinsurance arm of Qatar Insurance has won the much-coveted "Bond / Sukuk Deal of the Year by a Debut Issuer award" at the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards ceremony that was held onDecember 7 in Dubai.

QATAR Re was also conferred a number of titles, including 'the most oversubscribed issuance from the MENA region, the highest rated hybrid capital issuance in the region and the first US dollar denominated capital market issuance from an insurer based outside of the MENA region.'

The Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East award ceremony recognises outstanding achievement and celebrates excellence in the Middle Eastern Debt Capital markets. The winners were selected by a judging board comprising influential international investors from the banking and finance industry having a 1000 years' collective experience within fixed income markets.

At the end of February 2017, Qatar Re raised Solvency II compliant Tier 2 capital to facilitate growth within the business and help the company enhance its global reinsurance footprint. This led to the successful issuance of USD 450 million in Hybrid Tier 2 Perpetual Subordinated Capital Notes on 13 March 2017 - a landmark deal for the company and the region's capital markets.

During a three-day roadshow, which commenced on 2nd March, a two-member execution team mandated lead arrangers to target real money accounts in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, allowing the company to gauge market sentiment for the new issuance. A blend of positive investor engagement coupled with the scarcity of this kind of issuance in the region led to a very strong order book growth.

The deal was structured with optional deferral of coupons, allowing flexibility of equity treatment while ensuring better capitalisation ratios. The transaction carried an intermediate (100%) equity credit rating from international credit rating agency Standard & Poor's.

The final order book witnessed an oversubscription of 14.4x and generated orders from over 290 high quality accounts.

A robust demand for the notes prompted the execution team to ensure that the investor base was well diversified. In view of this, 30% of the transaction was allocated to accounts based in Asia, while 29%, 20% and 19% of the transaction were allocated in the UK, Middle East and Continental Europe. About 57% of the paper was allocated to fund managers and hedge funds, while banks, private banks and other insurers accounted for 43% of the allocations.

Commenting on this new accomplishment, Group President & CEO of QIC Group Mr. Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al-Subaey stated, "QIC is honoured to receive this prestigious award. Not only does it highlight the Group's in-house expertise at capital structuring, but it also puts under spotlight the innovative approaches adopted to ensure that the Group's capital adequacy ratio remains well above the levels mandated by Solvency II."

About Qatar Insurance Company:

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) is a publicly listed composite insurer with a consistent performance history of over 50 years and a global underwriting footprint. Founded in 1964, QIC was the first domestic insurance company in the State of Qatar. Today, QIC is the market leader in Qatar and a dominant insurer in the GCC and MENA regions. QIC is one of the highest rated insurers in the Gulf region with a rating of A/Stable from Standard & Poor's and A (Excellent) from A.M. Best. In terms of profitability and market capitalization, QIC is also the largest insurance company in the MENA region. It is listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of over USD 3.5 billion. For further information on QIC, please visit: www.qatarinsurance.com

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