HSBC wins the award for the Middle East’s best bank for financing this year. During the awards period the bank topped the equity capital markets league tables, completing 12 deals – more than any other financial institution – worth just over $4 billion, according to Dealogic.
The bank was strong across the capital markets. In debt capital markets, it ranked third during the awards period, completing 37 deals in the 12 months to the end of March 2023, for a total capital raise of $6.8 billion. And in loans it was dominant. HSBC was a bookrunner on 22 loans worth $9.2 billion and was a mandated lead arranger on 30 loans worth $7.5 billion, according to Dealogic.
There were many landmark issues. HSBC was a joint bookrunner on Americana’s IPO, which raised $1.8 billion for the Middle Eastern operator of Pizza Hut and KFC outlets in November 2022. It was the first dual listing by a regional corporate in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi; a deal that drew $105 billion in orders and valued the business at $6 billion in a tough year for big-ticket ECM deals. HSBC acted as a joint bookrunner for Americana.
Also in November, HSBC acted as joint global coordinator on the sale by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund of a 10% stake in the kingdom’s stock exchange. The Public Investment Fund sold 12 million shares in Tadawul Group, with the books filling up within an hour of the stock being put on offer. It was an integral part of Vision 2030, a concerted push by Riyadh to diversify Saudi Arabi’s economy.
In another standout equity deal, HSBC acted as joint global coordinator on the IPO of Dewa. Dubai’s main power and water company raised $6.1 billion in April 2022. HSBC was a joint global coordinator on the deal, which attracted $86 billion in orders and was the largest IPO in Europe, Middle East and Africa since Aramco’s near-$30 billion sale.
HSBC’s strength lies in its reach across the region, which in turn rests on its longevity and brand. Its ability to handle the full range of transactions, in terms of both complexity and client segment, is augmented by a willingness to reach into its substantial balance sheet to fund deals. Put that all together and you have a bank that is rarely out of the running in this category.
We have been at the nucleus of every major deal in the region, providing the full suite of banking services to our valued partners
Julian Wentzel
“We have a very strong corporate and investment banking platform in the Middle East,” says Samer Deghaili, co-head of capital financing and investment banking coverage for HSBC in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT). “If we need to step in to support a client, be it via a loan, a bond, with equity or via M&A help – it all becomes part of our offered solutions.”
Julian Wentzel, head of global banking MENAT, adds: “We want to provide a full wholesale solution to our client base, from M&A to structured finance. We have been at the nucleus of every major deal in the region, providing the full suite of banking services to our valued partners.”
This also ties in nicely with HSBC’s strength in sustainability. It was the number-one bookrunner for green loans in the 12 months to the end of March 2023, according to Dealogic. It was joint coordinator, bookrunner and green structuring agent on a $5 billion green loan printed by Qatar Holding, a division of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, in November 2022.
In July 2022, it completed the first-ever sustainability-linked murabaha financing for a financial institution. High demand helped Ahli United Bank upsize the three-year facility to $1.1 billion from $750 million. HSBC was bookrunner, coordinator and environmental, social and governance coordinator on the deal.
