Axiata Group Bhd, Malaysia's largest mobile operator by market value, said on Wednesday that it has successfully priced a 10-year $500 million sukuk, or Islamic bond.

Proceeds from the sukuk would be used for the proposed acquisition of Nepalese phone carrier Ncell Pvt. Ltd., the company said in a statement.

Swedish telecoms operator TeliaSonera AB sold its 60.4 percent stake in Ncell to Axiata for $1.03 billion last year.

Wednesday's sukuk is the third under Axiata's $1.5 billion multi-currency sukuk issuance programme that was set up in 2012.

It was priced at a yield of 4.357 percent with a final order book of over $900 million.

"Charting a new benchmark, we have taken this opportunity to build Axiata's curve with a 10-year issuance maturing in 2026, in line with our long-term strategy and growth plans," said Axiata's President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Jamaludin Ibrahim.

"Axiata will continue to look towards opportunities in the capital markets to strengthen our capital base."

CIMB, Deutsche Bank and HSBC are joint bookrunners. The sukuk will be listed in Malaysia and Singapore.

The bonds are trading at 243/239 basis points versus the 240 basis points spread over U.S. Treasuries at which they were priced.

Axiata said orders for the sukuk were 71 percent from Asia, 11 percent from Europe and 18 percent from the Middle East.