Award granted by International Finance

KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank (AUB) has announced winning of the Sukuk Deal of the Year-Kuwait 2017award granted by the prestigious global magazine, International Finance, at a presentation ceremony held in Dubai recently and attended by a number of decision makers from leading financial and economic institutions in the region.

The award came in recognition of AUB's superior performance in its issuance of a US $ 200 million Additional Tier 1 Capital Sukuk. This sukuk issue was in high demand from investors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe and covered more than three times of its size, reflecting the strong market confidence in AUB and in the stable economic climate of the State of Kuwait. The underlying Sukuk was subsequently listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ Dubai. The AUB Sukuk was the third Kuwaiti listing of its kind on NASDAQ Dubai.

The award was received on behalf of AUB by Abdullah Al-Langawi, Deputy General Manager of the Bank's Treasury, who stated "We are delighted to be honored with such a prestigious award for our debut Sukuk issuance last year. In particular, the award recognizes the speed of execution, effective sharia- compliant structuring together with competitive rates that was also achieved at a minimal issuance cost. Indeed, this award reaffirms the strong position enjoyed by AUB as a leading Islamic financial institution in Kuwait."

Commenting on this significant achievement, AUB's CEO, Richard Groves, said: "The Sukuk Deal of the Year award underscored the advantages of the Bank's Sukuk and its success in expanding its sharia- compliant banking services and products in the capital markets".

Groves added: "We are both honored by and proud of this independent recognition for the Bank and its leading role in providing unique banking and investment services. Indeed, this coveted award will take its place amongst the other numerous awards AUB has received in 2017, reflecting not only the Bank's leadership in the Islamic banking market but the huge and welcome confidence of our customers in AUB's capabilities and the quality of its banking services."