OETC issues successful 10-year International Bond
COMMERCIAL NEWS
Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC), a member of Nama Group, floated a $600 million bonds issue in the international bonds market maturing in 10 years, in February 2031 at an interest rate of 5.800%.
This is the first Government Related Entity (GRE) issuance out of Oman since 2018 and it marks OETC’s return to the capital markets after a brief hiatus of about 4 years, said the company in a statement.
The offering benefitted from improving investor sentiments towards Oman, further highlighting the strategic importance of NAMA Holding, its affiliate firms, partners in international money markets and investors, an Oman News Agency report said.
Building on the stellar marketing effort and, thanks to strategic diversification operations to woo investors, NAMA successfully engaged investors on the OETC Bond transaction, paving the way for the State Grid International Development (SGID) to become a 49% stakeholder in OETC.
Overall, investors from across Asia, Europe and the Americas showed keenness to participate in the OETC offering making up over 83% of the allocable orderbook.
The well diversified allocation of orders across these regions is testimony to the strength of the OETC’s credit profile, as well as the excellent teamwork that the DMO at Ministry of Finance and the NAMA, OETC and SGID Team put together.
Proceeds from this successful $ 600 million international placement will be used to refinance some of the existing loans, including the shareholders loan extended to OETC by NAMA and SGID, and to fund OETC’s capital expenditure programme thereby allowing the Company to deliver on its infrastructure development plans for the Sultanate of Oman.
OETC is authorized to undertake all regulated activities of electricity transmission and dispatch in northern Oman and Dhofar at voltages of 400kV, 220kV and 132kV. One of the major OETC capital expenditure programmes is the execution of the first phase of the 400kV North-South Interconnector project.
The extension of the Main Interconnected System will significantly boost the supply of fuel and electricity in the sultanate and bring about improvement to loads across various power systems, enabling them to deliver renewable energy to new project areas, share spinning reserves and achieve a reduction in cost of operation.
Further, the bond proceeds will support OETC to execute a 400kV project for the connection of a Solar Power Plant (PV) of 1000MW at the Wilayat of Manah, Governorate of A'Dakhiliyah by 2024 and 2025. Such major investments will enable OETC to meet the growth in demand and connect committed and future resources.
The OETC transaction was anchored by global EM bond funds, which continue to look for high quality assets. The ability to generate a book that peaked at over $ 4.5bn on a day where equities were notably softer. It is yet another evidence of the strength of the NAMA, SGID and OETC profile. It highlights the resilient demand for Oman sovereign and related entities. -- Tradearabia News Service
