In awarding Dubai Holding its 2007 Best Middle East/North Africa Borrower Award, EUROWEEK described the conglomerate’s debut on the international debt capital markets as ‘nothing short of sparkling’.

The EUROWEEK award was voted for by the emerging market teams at the leading investment banks in the international bond markets. Reflecting the significance of the issue, the award recognized that the deal’s size, complexity and ambition were unprecedented in the region.
The judges also paid tribute to Dubai Holding’s ‘uncommon restraint’ in not printing an oversized deal, despite being deluged with orders. As a result, they said, ‘investors were rewarded with an issue that performed well in the secondary market.’

Fadel Al Ali, Executive Chairman Dubai Holding Operations said: ‘In recognising the Eurobond’s significant achievements in the capital markets, this award highlights Dubai Holding’s rapid rise in influence and strength and its ability to compete with the best borrowers across the world.

‘The transaction demonstrated large international investor demand for Dubai and regional bonds. Investors showed very strong interest in the Dubai story and the role of Dubai Holding in contributing to the economic growth of Dubai.’

The Eurobond issue, which was placed by the Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHOG) in January 2007, was showered with $13bn of orders, ensuring that each of the three tranches – a $500m five year, a €750m seven year and a £500m ten year – was more than five times oversubscribed and priced at the tight end of revised guidance.

Of the almost 270 accounts that were allocated bonds, only six per cent were from the Middle East. It was the first time a Middle East deal had achieved such broad distribution outside the region.

JPMorgan acted as Global Co-ordinator, and JPMorgan and HSBC Middle East were Joint-Bookrunners on the transaction.