KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 ― MBSB Bank Bhd's (MBSB) inaugural RM300 million Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah offering under its dedicated RM5 billion Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah Programme has received overwhelming demand from investors.

In a statement today, MBSB said the Sukuk Wakalah offering recorded a final order book amounting to RM2.9 billion ― a strong bid to cover ratio of 10 times.

The offering marks MBSB’s first-ever Sustainability Sukuk issuance in its continued effort to grow its sustainable assets which underscore its commitment to its sustainability agenda

“The offering, which was priced on April 4, 2022, received overwhelming demand from diversified investors ranging from institutional investors, insurance and takaful companies, fund and asset management companies, financial institutions and high net worth investors,” it said.

The bank noted that interest from investors remained strong throughout the book-building process, allowing the Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah pricing to be further tightened by 30 basis points (bps) across the tenures from the high end of the initial price guidance.

“The dual-tranche offering, comprising a RM200 million five-year tranche and a RM100 million seven-year tranche, were finally priced at Malaysian Government Securities +95 bps or a final yield of 4.36 per cent per annum and 4.73 per cent per annum, respectively,” it added.

MBSB said the proceeds will be used to finance its green and social-related projects, in line with the bank’s strategic plan to actively participate in renewable energy and essential services.

Acting chief executive officer, Datuk Nor Azam M. Taib said the offering demonstrates MBSB’s strong commitment to supporting the government’s sustainability agenda and initiatives.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the United Kingdom government’s Asean Low Carbon Energy Programme (LCEP) for the support towards the development of MBSB Bank’s Sustainability Sukuk Framework,” he said.

MBSB Bank and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd signed the agreement on the RM5 billion Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah Programme on February 22, 2022. ― Bernama