ICICI's Bahrain arm raises $340 mn through debt securities

Dubai, Sep 5: ICICI Bank, acting through its Bahrain branch, has raised 340 million dollars through a debt securities offering.

This was the first-ever foreign currency perpetual non-cumulative subordinated debt securities offering by an Indian bank.

These securities qualify as Tier I capital of the bank, Gulf Daily News reported.

The latest offering, which closed on August 24, had a 3.60 billion dollar order-book with strong interest from investors across the globe, said ICICI Bank Bahrain country head Ajay Sharma.

Thirty seven per cent of the securities were sold into the US, 30 per cent in Asia and 33 per cent in Europe, he said adding that the offering was lead by J P Morgan, Merrill Lynch International and Morgan Stanley.

The securities carry a coupon of 7.25 per cent and were priced at a spread of 194 basis points over LIBOR (translating to a spread of 247 basis points over 10-year US Treasuries), which was below the lower-end of the initial price guidance.

These perpetual securities are redeemable at the option of ICICI Bank after 10 years with prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India, said Mr Sharma.

UNI