Etihad to mandate banks for benchmark Islamic bond

Bloomberg

Etihad Airways PJSC has hired banks for a potential Islamic bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
The third-biggest airline in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council mandated banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC for the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s sukuk is expected by the end of the year, they said.
Bond sales across the GCC have surged to more than $47 billion this year, already the busiest on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Cash-strapped nations and state-controlled entities are turning to international debt markets after the price of crude, which props up most government spending, plunged by more than 40 percent in the past two years.
State-owned Etihad last-year raised $700 million via a five-year bond with partners including Air Berlin Plc and Alitalia SpA, in which the Abu Dhabi airline has stakes. The group sold a further $500 million bond in May.
Etihad is rated A by Fitch Ratings, the sixth-highest investment grade.
Asian airlines have placed aircraft orders worth tens of billions of dollars as the region is expected to become the world’s leading travel market