Strong investor demand sees the issuance more than twice oversubscribed, with orders exceeding US$6 billion
QNB Group, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, announces that QNB Capital successfully acted as Global Coordinator on the State of Qatar’s US$3 billion dual-tranche conventional bond issuance in the international debt capital markets.
Highlights:
- The transaction, priced on 21 September 2026, comprised a US$1 billion five-year bond and a US$2 billion ten-year bond.
- The five-year tranche was priced at 55 basis points over US Treasuries, with a coupon of 5.25% and a yield to maturity of 5.38%. The tranche attracted an order book exceeding US$2 billion, representing demand of more than twice the amount issued.
- The ten-year tranche was priced at 65 basis points over US Treasuries, with a coupon of 5.375% and a yield to maturity of 5.613%. Investor orders for the tranche exceeded US$4 billion, also representing demand of more than twice the amount issued.
- These spreads represent the additional return offered to investors over comparable US government bonds.
The strong demand across both maturities enabled the State of Qatar to price each tranche with a new issue premium of only five basis points above fair value. This represented [one of the lowest/one of the tightest] new issue premiums achieved across comparable regional transactions in 2026, underscoring continued international investor confidence in Qatar’s strong credit fundamentals and economic outlook.
The transaction attracted demand from a diversified base of institutional investors across [Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the United States], including [asset managers, banks, pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds].
Commenting on the transaction, Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Group Chief Executive Officer of QNB Group, said: “QNB Capital is proud to have supported the State of Qatar in the successful execution of this important international bond issuance. The strong investor demand and competitive pricing achieved across both tranches reflect the continued confidence of global investors in Qatar’s economy and credit fundamentals.
“This transaction also demonstrates QNB Group’s ability to combine QNB Capital’s debt capital markets expertise with the strength of our international network and global investor relationships. We remain committed to supporting the State of Qatar and our clients in accessing international capital markets and delivering transactions aligned with their strategic financing objectives.”
QNB Capital acted as Global Coordinator alongside J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Goldman Sachs. [AA1.1][AA1.2]
Santander, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho, MUFG and SMBC acted as Joint Bookrunners.
The transaction further strengthens QNB Capital’s track record in executing landmark sovereign and institutional debt capital markets transactions and reinforces its position as a leading investment banking adviser in Qatar and across the region.