Middle East Bonds

If Qatar does go ahead with a bond, it needs to be the one being selective about which banks it will work with.

Turkey’s banking regulator issued a statement over the weekend asking the public to ignore stories about the country’s banks, after local press reports that some Turkish lenders could be fined billions of dollars by the US for violating sanctions on Iran.

Jordan’s sovereign rating was cut one notch to B+ by Standard & Poor’s and Angola was cut a level to B2 by Moody’s after market close on Friday, as overseas debt levels and weak growth took a toll on both countries.

Rating: BB+

Qatar is looking to issue a jumbo bond before the end of this year, but bond syndicates and DCM desks are agonising over whether it would be good business for them to work with the state, since it has been cut off by its neighbours.

Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Adcop), a wholly owned subsidiary and strategic asset of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc), has named four of the arrangers of its loan to lead bond investor meetings, and those who joined the syndication will be added later.

The $1bn 10 year note issued by Bahrain’s Oil and Gas Holding Company (Noga) had already traded up by two cash points in the secondary market on Thursday, after landing at the top end of where deal watchers saw fair value.

Bahrain’s Oil and Gas Holding Company (Noga) had taken books of $2.6bn for its debut 10 year bond on Wednesday, while bankers debated the significance of the spread over the Bahraini sovereign.

MUFG has hired a new head of Middle East capital markets in Dubai as Jonathan Segal relocates to London to focus on Europe.

Investors are expecting a jumbo trade from the Qatari sovereign in the coming weeks, with money already shifting out of the borrower’s curve in preparation.

Bahrain’s Oil and Gas Holding Company (Noga) is set to hit the road to market a debut 144A/Reg S dollar denominated benchmark trade with a tenor of up to 10 years, less than two years after the company made its debut in the syndicated loan market.

Unrated issuer, Investment Corporation of Dubai is out with initial price thoughts of 4.15% area on a tap of its $300m 4.625% 2024 bonds, with analysts expecting a tightening of around 10bp in yield terms.