QNB raises 750 million riyals in largest riyal Samurai bond

Summary

• QNB raised 750 million Qatari riyals from Japanese investors in its second riyal-denominated Samurai bond.
• The three-year issue is the largest Samurai bond ever denominated in the Qatari riyal, the group said.
• It deepens the Gulf's biggest bank's access to Japanese funding beyond dollar and regional markets.

The latest

Qatar National Bank raised 750 million Qatari riyals, roughly 206 million dollars at the currency's 3.64 peg, from a diversified base of Japanese investors in a three-year Samurai bond. The group said the sale is the largest riyal-denominated Samurai issue to date and a further step in a strategy aimed at diversifying funding sources and widening its reach into Japan's investor market.

Details

• The numbers: The issue totals 750 million Qatari riyals with a three-year maturity, according to a QNB statement published on the Qatar Stock Exchange website. At the riyal's fixed peg of 3.64 to the dollar, that is about 206 million dollars. The group described it as the largest Samurai bond denominated in the Qatari riyal so far.
• The instrument: Samurai bonds are debt sold in Japan to Japanese investors. QNB's version is unusual in being denominated in Qatari riyals rather than yen, which leaves currency exposure with the buyers and gives them direct access to a Gulf-pegged asset through a familiar domestic issuance channel.
• The arranger: QNB said it mandated Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, known as SMBC, to arrange the issue. The group did not name the investors that participated or break down the allocation among them, describing the buyer base only as diversified Japanese investors.
• Second attempt: The sale follows QNB's debut riyal-denominated Samurai bond in the first quarter of 2025. The group did not disclose the size or pricing of that first transaction, but presented the new issue as building directly on it rather than as a one-off placement.
• The strategy: QNB framed the deal as an additional step in a broader plan to diversify its funding sources and expand its access to Japanese investors. The statement did not indicate whether further Samurai issues are planned or set a target for how much funding the bank intends to raise in Japan.
• The disclosure route: The group announced the transaction through a statement on the Qatar Stock Exchange website, the standard channel for material disclosures by listed Qatari companies. QNB is a Qatari public shareholding company and the largest bank in the Gulf region by assets.
• What was not stated: The announcement did not specify the coupon, the pricing spread, the settlement date, or the intended use of proceeds. It also did not say whether the bonds will be listed on any exchange or held solely by the Japanese investors who subscribed to the issue.

Background

Samurai bonds let foreign borrowers tap Japan's deep domestic investor base, which has long searched for yield outside the country's low-rate environment. Issuing in riyals rather than yen is a newer variation, keeping the borrower's liability in its home currency while still reaching Japanese buyers.

Between the lines

Returning to the same market within about 18 months of a debut issue, with a larger size and the same local arranger, suggests QNB is treating Japan as a repeatable funding channel rather than a one-time diversification exercise. Keeping the bond in riyals also means the bank avoids hedging costs, since the liability stays in the currency pegged to the dollar.

What's next

Watch whether QNB discloses pricing terms in subsequent filings, and whether other Gulf issuers follow with riyal- or dirham-denominated Samurai sales arranged through Japanese banks.

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA), Qatar Stock Exchange