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taking into consideration that the sukuk was oversubscribed by approximately 10
times with orders amounting to US$3.2 billion which was fully distributed to over
185 Islamic and conventional investors.
The successful pricing came on the back of a positive rating by internationally
renowned rating agencies, Moody’s Investor’s Services and Fitch Ratings.
Bestowing a rating outlook of positive, Moody’s had assigned an A3 rating to
this sukuk issuance, which is the same level as the A3 foreign-currency senior
unsecured debt rating of EXIM. Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, assigned the Sukuk a
final rating of ‘A-’.
Moody’s Investors Service had also assigned an A3 rating to our proposed HKD-
denominated senior unsecured fixed-rate notes, giving us a stable outlook rating.
Likewise, Moody’s also gave an A3 rating on our long-term foreign currency
senior unsecured debt and (P) A3 on the Bank’s long-term foreign currency senior
unsecured MTN programme with a stable outlook.
All these are important milestones for the Bank. These ratings indicated the
confidence that the rating agencies have in our transformation plan, as well as the
internal process, procedures and systems that we have put in place, in addition to
the relevancy of the Bank in the overall nation’s economic agenda.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION: GOING FORWARD
While the slower growth of the global economy in FY2013 had posed many
challenges to the Bank in fulfilling its mandated role, nevertheless, many new
opportunities also arose making for an eventful and exciting year. With strong
discipline and meticulousness to stay the course through the uncertain times, we
continued to make admirable progress on our transformation course, achieving
most, if not all, of our headline KPIs for the year.
The Bank’s growth prospects in 2014 will continue to be influenced by the global
economy, though the degree would be moderated by risk mitigation measures,
including market and sector diversification, that we continue to undertake.
Real GDP growth is projected to be a moderate 5 to 5.5 per cent on the back of
rising cost of living and challenges to real economic activities. However, external
demand is expected to provide strong support for GDP growth, given gaining
momentum of the world economy. This augurs well for the Bank, as we will be
well positioned to take advantage of improving economic conditions in markets
in which we have exposure, and expanding into new markets should conditions
be favourable.
EXIM Bank Annual Report 2013
021