SABIC starts USD-denominated bond issue today

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation’s (SABIC) wholly-owned subsidiary, SABIC Capital II B.V., has started issuing senior, unsecured USD-denominated bonds, the petrochemical giant said in a bourse filing on Tuesday.

Bonds will have five-year and ten-year tenors and will mature on Oct. 10, 2023 and Oct. 10, 2028. They will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext Dublin).

The issuance, which targets qualified institutional investors, will run to Wednesday, Oct. 3. Subscription is set at $200,000 minimum.

"No price talk has yet been offered," SABIC said, indicating that the size of the bond issue will be determined in line with the market conditions.

The issue proceeds will go for refinancing some financial liabilities of SABIC and its affiliates.

The world’s fourth-largest petrochemicals company picked BNP Paribas and Citi as global coordinators for the planned debt issue, along with HSBC, MUFG and Standard Chartered as joint lead managers.

Moody's Investors Service lately assigned an A1 instrument rating to the proposed new senior unsecured notes that will be issued by SABIC Capital II BV. It also affirmed SABIC's A1 long-term issuer rating and A1 senior unsecured ratings of SABIC Capital I BV and SABIC Capital II BV, adding that the outlook on all ratings remain stable.