Utico sounds banks for a US$500m Sukuk – ZAWYA

Utico sounds banks for a US$500m Sukuk – ZAWYA

Dubai: Utico , the Middle East's leading full service utility and the only private water and power company in the UAE, today said it is working with financial institutions and banks to raise a benchmark sized Islamic bond and tap the capital markets.. In a statement, Mr. Richard Menezes, CEO of Utico said that the company has sounded out to several financial institutions including Citi for the Sukuk issuance.. Utico has the lowest Debt to Equity gearing of 0.5 in the industry while its largest competitor in the region is leveraged about 8 or 9 times, compared to the industry average of 3 times.. Sovereign entities of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Brunei and Oman are already investors and shareholders.. We are the only private full services utility company in the region and Utico's first entry into public capital markets will be an opportune time for investors to invest in a sustainable and profitable company," he said.. The company is also at base capacity metrics and has end-to-end lowest Non revenue water (loss or leakage of water) in the Middle East of approximately 2% versus industry average of 10% and other utilities in the region of even 30%, confirming that