GCC Bonds

Deluge of bond issues by Gulf banks provides capital boost

GCC banks continue to tap the bond markets at a brisk pace in 2021 as they try to take advantage of low interest rates amid prospects of economic recovery. The impact of COVID-19 on earnings have spurred banks to raise capital through bonds to strengthen their balance sheets. Banks also needed to issue new bonds to pay off the ones maturing this year. UAE’s Emirates NBD bank had the first public debt issuance in GCC this year with a USD...

Revenue squeeze could spur Gulf bond issuance to new highs in 2021

International debt sales by sovereigns and corporates in the Gulf region topped a record USD 100billion issuance in 2020 as governments raised capital to cover their widening deficits and corporates latched upon the opportunity to strengthen their balance sheets amid low interest rates. Central banks opened up the liquidity taps to support the economy and investor frenzy for positive yielding instruments drove international debt issuance from the gulf region to record highs. Exhibit: GCC borrowings topped USD 100billion in 2020...

GCC debt deluge: big-ticket issues, even by international standards

The article originally appeared in The National | Business. The GCC is raining debt issuances. From almost nothing a few years ago, all we hear and read these days is the jumbo-sized bond issuances from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi etc. The Saudis just closed a successful US$17.5 billion issue that was oversubscribed by more than four times, while Qatar raised $9bn in May followed by a $5bn sale by Abu Dhabi. Even by international standards, these are...