The state of Qatar has sold a US$7bn global bond issue, making it the largest sovereign debt issuance of the region.
The fixed-rate notes have three tranches: a US$3.5bn 4% tranche maturing in 2015; a US$2.5bn 5.25% tranche maturing in 2020; and a US$1bn 6.4% tranche maturing in 2040.
Qatar will pay 185 basis points over US Treasuries for the five-year bond. The 10-year tranche will be priced at 195 bp over US Treasuries while the 30-year bond will be priced at 215 bp over US Treasuries.
The proceeds of the bonds will be used for general funding purposes of the state, such as contingency funding for entities that the state owns or controls, and infrastructure investment funding in and outside the hydrocarbon sector.
Joint lead managers on the sale were Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Qatar National Bank.
Qatar is rated "Aa2" by Moody's Investor Services and "AA-" by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.
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