Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works Ltd (KSEW) plans to issue an eight-year domestic Islamic bond, or sukuk, worth up to Rs 4.2 billion ($69.25 million) to fund upgrade plans. Dubai Islamic Bank and JS Bank will jointly arrange the government-guaranteed Sukuk issue, which includes a greenshoe option of 1.2 billion rupees.
According to a copy of the investor brief for the transaction obtained by Reuters. "The tenor of the issue will be eight years, with principal payment in eight equal semi-annual instalments commencing from the 54th month of the disbursement," they said.
It will be "backed by government of Pakistan guarantee and attractively priced at six-month KIBOR (Karachi Interbank Offer Rate) plus 0.4 percent per annum," they said. The benchamrk six-month KIBOR was at 9.74/10.24 percent on Friday. The proposed Sukuk will be eligible for inclusion in the statutory liquidity reserves, or SLR, for Islamic banks as well as conventional banks having Islamic banking windows.
There was no mention of any dates for the proposed issue in the brief, but banking sources said the transaction would be completed before the 2006/07 fiscal year ends on June 30. Bankers said the SLR eligibility of the issue was one of the reasons for the tighter spread of the offering.
"There is a scarcity of SLR eligible papers for Islamic banks, and hence they can afford to keep the spreads tight," said a banker. Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd the country's second largest gas distribution company, recently issued a privately placed, five-year 1.0 billion rupee Sukuk, priced at three-month KIBOR plus 1.4 percent per annum.
That issue was not SLR eligible. Bankers said the state-run Water and Power Development Authority and Pakistan International Airlines were also planning domestic Sukuk offerings in coming months.
KSEW, which suffered a net loss of 149 million rupees in the 2005/06 (July-June) fiscal year, plans to use proceeds from the Sukuk for upgrading its existing infrastructure, and undertaking engineering initiatives. The company hopes to turn profitable by 2009/10, when it has projected an annual profit of 547 million rupees.
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