Qatar raised US$2.5 billion ($3.37 billion) with its first dollar bonds in four years and a debut green deal, tapping into a booming global market for sustainable debt.
The green bonds were split between a US$1 billion five-year portion and a US$1.5 billion 10-year tranche. The shorter notes were priced with a spread of 30 basis points over US Treasuries, equating to a yield of 4.74%, down from initial guidance of 70 basis points.
The 10-year debt had a spread of 40 basis points and a yield of 4.82%.
Green bonds from the Middle East have gained traction in the past few years, with investors piling into sales from the likes of Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund, Abu Dhabi’s main property company and the government of Sharjah.
Qatar is yet to announce a timeline for zeroing out its carbon emissions and is one of the world’s highest per capita emitters of planet-warming gases. Like other nations in the Gulf, it uses plenty of energy on air conditioning and to desalinate water.
Yet it is spending billions of dollars to ramp up solar power. It also argues that gas is a fuel that will help with global climate goals because it’s cleaner than oil or coal, though the industry is associated with methane leaks.
See also: Singapore sells green bond, adding to global deals record
Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world and has a rating of AA or its equivalent — the third-highest possible — from all three major ratings companies.
Its last Eurobond deal was in April 2020, when it raised US$10 billion after attracting US$45 billion of orders from investors.
The main banks arranging the latest deal were Crédit Agricole AS, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Qatar National Bank.
