The Arab Energy Fund, formerly known as Apicorp and a leading financial institution in the Middle East and North Africa’s energy sector, has successfully raised $600 million through a new US dollar bond issuance, reinforcing investor confidence in its performance and credit strength. The issuance comes amid a busy period for global capital markets, underlining the fund’s investment appeal.
The new five-year bonds, maturing in February 2031, attracted demand exceeding twice the initial target size, allowing the final issuance to be set at $600 million.
The bonds were priced at 75 basis points above the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR), with spreads tightened by 10 basis points during book-building and about 20 basis points compared to prevailing secondary market levels. This, the fund said, reflects the strength of demand and attractiveness of the issue despite heavy activity in global debt markets.
This marks the Arab Energy Fund’s fourth issuance in 2025, underscoring its solid credit standing and reputation as a reliable and frequent issuer in international capital markets. Pricing was achieved within secondary market levels, despite the deal coinciding with more than 40 global transactions launched in the same period.
Vicky Bhatia, Chief Financial Officer of the fund, said the issuance demonstrates investors’ confidence in the institution’s strong credit profile. He noted that such confidence has allowed the fund to reprice its yield curve in line with its financing strategy.
The bond attracted a broad and diversified investor base, including central banks, sovereign wealth funds, multilateral institutions, and government entities. It also secured wide geographic participation, with strong backing from both Middle Eastern and North African investors as well as international players.
