“The contribution of the four partners is of at least 15 billion dirhams … They are committed to support us throughout the next 10 years,” Bennani told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

He said the investors did not want their individual contributions to the Moroccan government-backed fund be made public. The fund aims to attract 100 billion dirhams in investment.

The fund will finance resort developments in Morocco that aim to more than double tourism receipts to 150 billion dirhams by 2020.”

Read more: Reuters

First off, most SWFs that are raising capital are the types of sovereign wealth funds that take large stakes in companies.  In addition, SWFs that hold large portions of their domestic industry would be the type of funds to engage in this behavior.  We most likely would not see the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority or the Norwegian GPFG raise capital or take on bank loans.  In some instances, SWFs experience shrinkage of money flows from their respective government; money in the private markets backed by SWF assets can increase their stability and investment performance.[Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view site content.]

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Offers for Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co.’s first-ever bond issue are in the range of $1 billion to $1.25 billion, according to a source familiar with the sale.

That means the sovereign wealth entity’s debut could be larger than the minimum $500 million benchmark size when it completes on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered are leading the sale.

The five-year senior unsecured bonds, rated A by Standard & Poor’s and A from Fitch Ratings, are expected to yield 300 basis points over mid-swaps. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including to refinance existing debt.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, which owns Mumtalakat outright, issued $1.25 billion in 5.5% bonds on March 24 via JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, according to Dealogic.  In a note on June 21, Standard & Poor’s said there is an “almost certain likelihood that the government of Bahrain would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to Mumtalakat in the event of financial distress,” although it does not formally guarantee its liabilities.

Mumtalakat does not make material investment decisions without government consent, S&P added. Most of the company’s assets are in domestic real-estate, telecommunications, aviation, banking and manufacturing. Bahrain owns a separate holding company for oil and gas assets, the National Oil and Gas Authority.  The issuer’s decision to tap the capital markets for the first time was predicated on the Mumtalakat’s need to become more independent from Bahrain, said the source.

“In the wake of the Dubai World issues, Bahrain is trying to push these sovereign entities away from its balance sheet and would like them to fund themselves on their own,” the person said.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Nasdaq reports that, “Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co. is talking to banks about a new $400 million-$500 million loan facility, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. This is not a refinancing but new money for Mumtalakat, one of the people said. The deal is out in the loan market alongside a refinancing facility for Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Development Co., which is looking to refinance an existing $2 billion loan that matures in early April, as previously reported by Dow Jones. Both deals represent the first loan financings for Gulf-based entities since Dubai requested a standstill on $26 billion worth of Dubai World debt.”

read more: Nasdaq

“We want to diversify. We will be looking at investments across markets. Our immediate focus will be to diversify investments, channel funds more towards liquidity, that is fixed income, equity markets,” Zain said in an interview.

A $1 billion motor sports-themed commercial real estate project in Bahrain was likely to be financed by a combination of investment from strategic investors, private sector funding and some of its own equity, he said. But Mumtalakat would wait to receive its credit rating later this year before issuing bonds.”

read more: Reuters

The value of investments held by the sovereign wealth fund had fallen by about 10% to 15% from around $10bn as a result of the global economic downturn, Mumtalakat CEO Talal al-Zain told Reuters yesterday.

In an interview in Bahrain’s capital Manama, Zain said Mumtalakat’s strategy to balance local and international investments does not necessarily mean the fund would sell down local stakes and shift proceeds to its international portfolio.”

read more: Gulf Times

Reuters reports that, “Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund said on Friday it would focus for now on its domestic investments, including Gulf Air, but would be on the lookout for global investments in sectors like tourism.

‘Right now, my focus really is on the existing portfolio companies which is mostly in the Bahrain market,’ Mumtalakat Chief Executive Talal al-Zain said in an interview at on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dead Sea, Jordan.

‘I’m just taking advantage of what’s happening and just investing within my portfolio company,’ Zain told Reuters.

Sovereign wealth funds in the oil-exporting Gulf Arab region have scaled down investments in Western companies since oil prices tumbled from peaks of almost $150 a barrel last summer.”

read more: Reuters