Abu Dhabi-listed Burjeel Holdings issued a $500 million Islamic bond, the opening tranche of a $1.5 billion borrowing plan it had shelved when the Iran war began in February. The group said demand was three times larger than supply, with orders coming mostly from international investors, in a sign that Gulf debt markets are thawing after the conflict stalled new issuances.
Proceeds of the sukuk will go toward refinancing existing debt and enabling investments in research and clinical trials, CEO Shamsheer Vayalil told Semafor. Vayalil had earlier said any move toward tapping debt markets would hinge on possible government support, which turned out not to be needed, with the deal instead “completed entirely on commercial terms,” he said.
The Gulf’s healthcare sector, clouded by the 2020 collapse of NMC Health, has nonetheless attracted massive investment as the region seeks to diversify, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the shift from a state-run system to a privatized model.
— Kelsey Warner