Clifford Chance and AS&H advises on STC’s international debt capital markets issuance

Clifford Chance and Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm in co-operation with Clifford Chance (AS&H) have advised Saudi Telecom Company (STC) in relation to the establishment of its USD5 billion sukuk programme and its debut international capital markets issuance of USD1.25 billion 10-year fixed rate trust certificate by STC Sukuk Company Limited (the Certificates).

STC is the leading telecommunications operator in Saudi Arabia and is one of the highest value telecom brands in the Middle East. STC provides a wide variety of telecommunications services in Saudi Arabia, including mobile, fixed-line and broadband access products, wholesale, data centre hosting, solutions for office and home environments, cybersecurity and other information and communication technology and related solutions.

This transaction marks STC’s debut foray into the international debt capital markets issuance and is a landmark transaction for STC in terms of diversifying its sources of funding and investor base while gaining access to greater pools of liquidity.

The transaction was highly successful with the orderbook being 3.5 times oversubscribed.

Qudeer Latif (global head of Islamic Finance), who led the Clifford Chance team commented, “We are delighted to have assisted Saudi Telecom Company on their first move into the international debt capital markets and were delighted to see the high demand from the market. Our team passes our congratulations to STC on a successful initial debt issuance.”

The Clifford Chance team comprised Qudeer Latif (partner), John Connolly (partner), Stuart Ure (partner), Ahmed Choudhry (senior associate), Alekhya Prakash (senior associate), Christopher Osborne (senior associate), Kierra Jones (law clerk) and Ismaila Ngum (trainee solicitor). The AS&H team comprised Yasser Al-Hussain (partner), Reema Al-Hamoud (associate), Ali Moiz Ansari (associate) and Sahal Khalawi (associate).

First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, KFH Capital, Samba Capital and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers on the issuance.