GCC

I’ve always considered myself a gent of superior taste and class. While I’m not averse to hanging out with the hoi polloi, I think it is no exaggeration to say that I’m considered one of Hong Kong’s respected elder statesmen.

Saudi Arabia’s debut bond was met on Wednesday with enormous demand as investors poured in over $67bn of orders for the triple trancher by mid-morning. The deal, set at $17.5bn, will be the biggest emerging markets sovereign bond ever as one EM specialist questioned how the 30 year piece in particular could be priced so tight.

The CEEMEA bond market exploded into life this week in what will be one of the busiest of the year. Saudi Arabia is leading the action with its much-anticipated bond but Turkey made an impressive comeback with four of its banks in the market following Friday’s sovereign trade. Further supply from Poland, Russia, the Middle East and Africa is adding plenty of diversity for investors.

Equate Petrochemical Company, a US and Kuwaiti joint venture, has picked banks for its debut bond issue and, despite heavy supply from Middle East borrowers, bankers have no doubt demand for the deal will be strong.

As Middle Eastern countries reconfigure to lower oil prices, their funding needs could reach $560bn between 2015-2019, said S&P Global Ratings in a report on Monday.

Ahli United Bank Kuwait has opened books on a perpetual dollar sukuk after wrapping up investor meetings on Monday, books were oversubscribed and were due to close on Tuesday, according to leads.

Japanese technology giant SoftBank and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia have agreed to set up a UK-based technology fund for up to $100bn and have employed former bankers from Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to help with the project.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) named on Monday the 22 banks which participated in its $1.5bn loan signed in September, a deal which the borrower described as the largest corporate loan in the country's history.

Investor meetings for Saudi Arabia’s three tranche debut began in earnest this week, but with a rumoured $60bn to issue over three years, and rising concerns about the implementation of the country's 2030 plan, some dedicated EM funds are already preparing to sit out the imminent first megabond, writes Virginia Furness.

Taqa achieved tight pricing for a dual tranche dollar tap on Wednesday after starting wide due to uncertain market conditions and anticipation of imminent sovereign supply from Saudi Arabia.

Ahli United Bank’s Kuwait arm will be looking to issue a tier one dollar sukuk after wrapping up investor meetings on Monday, according to bankers involved in the process.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) emerged with pricing on Wednesday for tap of its dual tranche dollar deal from June.