GCC

Gulf Cooperation Council governments are expected to raise $32.5bn in international sovereign bonds this year, down from the record $38.9bn last year, said Moody’s in a report on Tuesday.

This week saw the entry of Kuwait into the capital markets. The sovereign’s long awaited debut received orders of $29bn at peak, proving that demand for the region is as strong as ever. Now Argentina is looking to print a rare Swiss franc deal.

Dubai shopping centre builder Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) has closed a revolving credit facility in a club deal with relationship banks.

Kuwait nipped in on Monday ahead of the Fed decision this week to raise $8bn with its debut bond, establishing a liquid benchmark at the five and 10 year parts of the curve. While the emphatic statement the deal made was not in question, there was debate about the bonds’ relative value against other Gulf sovereigns.

Etisalat Nigeria will meet with 13 local lenders this week to discuss its restructuring plans for a $1.2bn loan taken out in 2013, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Attractive pricing helped Kuwait build a huge order book on Monday morning for its debut bond as bankers debated where pricing should land for the sovereign.

Bank Muscat has successfully completed its $525m syndicated loan refinancing, adding to Oman’s accumulating loan book.

Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, which is accessing Asian liquidity for a $600m acquisition loan, has bagged commitments from Taiwanese banks.

Warba Bank was on course to become the third Kuwaiti lender to raise capital via the sukuk market after setting final guidance for a debut additional tier one (AT1) deal.

Qatar Re drew nearly $6.5bn of demand for its debut hybrid dollar deal, the first in the format from an insurer from the CEEMEA region.

The CEO of HKEX may be keen for Saudi Aramco to list in Hong Kong but as our columnist Clawback explains, there are more reasons for the Saudi oil giant to bypass the city’s exchange than to pick it for a listing.

Five new IPOs were announced in EMEA this week as the market enters a crucial window in the run-up to Easter.