Byco issues first-ever AAA rated private sector Sukuk with support from GuarantCo

  • Date written
  • February, 2017

Byco Oil Pakistan Limited (“BOPL”) has successfully issued its first privately placed Sukuk for PKR 3,120mln.

The issue, subscribed by a wide range of local investors, is rated AAA by PACRA and 100% backed by a guarantee from the Private Infrastructure Development Group’s guarantee company GuarantCo.

The Sukuk supports a refinery upgradation programme which will provide additional fuel for energy and transportation to support the country’s economic growth. The funds will enable Byco’s flagship refinery in Balochistan, south-west Pakistan, to increase production rates through completion of its platformer, improve energy efficiency and expand storage facilities.

In a statement, Lasitha Perera, Chief Executive Officer of GuarantCo said:

“The success of the Byco Sukuk, the first of its kind, delivers on GuarantCo’s commitment to provide local currency credit enhancement that enables investors to participate in long term infrastructure projects in Pakistan.”

“We are pleased to be supporting a key provider of fuel for Pakistan’s homes and businesses” he added.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Byco

Byco is engaged in oil refining and isthe largest refinery in Pakistan having a capacity of 120,000bpd. Byco owns an offshore Single Point Mooring (SPM) which, with an annual capacity of 12 million tons, is the first floating port of the country set up in the Arabian Sea at a distance of approximately 15 km from the Byco’s installations and has the capacity to handle multiple products. Byco is in the process of merging its subsidiaries, comprising refining, oil marketing and terminal operations, which will lead to a larger asset base, a decrease in administrative cost and generate synergies.

Mr. Amir Abbassciy, CEO of Byco Group said “We opted for long term Islamic financing and are pleased with the overwhelming response from the market, especially from non-institutional investors. The funds raised will allow us to undertake necessary investments improving performance and efficiency of our refining operations.”

The bond is the first AAA rated private sector Sukuk issue in Pakistan and the company also plans to list the issue on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. JS Bank and Burj Capital/Capital Resource are the Joint Advisors and Lead Arrangers for the Sukuk issue.

 

About GuarantCo

GuarantCo is part-of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and provides local currency solutions to local or regional financial institutions and bond investors, to help infrastructure projects raise debt finance. Primarily, this is through guarantees denominated in local currency, although GuarantCo can provide dollar-denominated guarantees in fragile and conflict-affected states and provided the business case supports such financing.

GuarantCo is one-of-a-kind – the only local currency guarantee facility in the world targeting infrastructure in frontier markets. GuarantCo is funded by Australia (DFAT), the Netherlands (DGIS through FMO), Switzerland (SECO), Sweden (Sida) and the UK (DFID).

For more information, please visit www.guarantco.com

 

About PIDG

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) encourages and mobilises private investment in infrastructure in the frontier markets of Sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia, to help promote economic development and combat poverty. Since 2002, PIDG has supported 133 infrastructure projects to financial close, of which 56 are fully operational. PIDG is a multilateral organisation, funded by donors from seven countries (UK, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany) and the World Bank Group.