GCC

A fresh round of US sanctions on Venezuela’s government will add to the pressure on 46th president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro to clear off, said bond investors.

Dubai Investments Park is hitting the road to market a five year fixed rate senior unsecured Reg S only sukuk.

Qatar National Bank has sold a Rmb500m ($73m) three year bond through Standard Chartered, continuing its ongoing presence in this market.

Rating: A3/—A

Rating: Aa3/AA-/AA-

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) printed its $850m five year sukuk on Tuesday, becoming the first bank to sell an international sukuk intraday.

First Abu Dhabi Bank printed its $850m five year sukuk on Tuesday, increasing the deal size from an expected $750m and paving the way for an additional tier one trade from Dubai Islamic Bank on Wednesday. The deals are the first bank trades from the Middle East this year.

Dubai Islamic Bank finishes the roadshow for its additional tier one bond on Wednesday. The market is eagerly awaiting pricing details and though no call has yet been confirmed, bankers and investors are expecting the bank to redeem its outstanding tier one in March.

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s five year sukuk benchmark, which has raised a book of $2bn so far, is prompting renewed discussion over fair representation of joint lead manager interest in Middle East bonds.

Confidence is sweeping through the CEEMEA bond market as huge volumes for some of 2018’s most maligned issuers have pushed volumes up to record breaking levels for the first fortnight of a year. But despite the strong start, some bankers are concerned that the difficulties of last year are a whisker away from making a comeback. Francesca Young, Lewis McLellan and Sam Kerr report.

Rating: A1/—/A+

Saudi Arabia's $7.5bn bond, issued on Wednesday, met with little resistance from investors, despite international condemnation of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the country's consulate in Istanbul last year. The lead managers built a $27bn book for the deal.