Middle East

The top tier of emerging markets sovereigns are cramming into this week’s issuance window, as Abu Dhabi followed Qatar’s Tuesday blowout with a triple tranche bond deal of its own.

The State of Qatar on Tuesday issued a $10bn three tranche bond, with a final demand book in excess of $44bn. The deal came in the wake of extreme oil price volatility, though Qatar has buffers to protect it against any major economic shocks.

The number of year-to-date loans signed across CEEMEA more than halved compared to last year, which bankers said is a direct result of the coronavirus crisis that has engulfed countries and markets worldwide. The outlook for issuance is bleak, to the dismay of many lenders.

A pair of sovereigns hit the MTN market to raise debt this week, looking for cash to meet increased borrowing requirements as they grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Israel came to the MTN market this week printing paper to helpfund its Covid-19 response, while Ireland ventured out to the ultra-long end of the curve to print its fourth century bond.

London-listed UAE payments company Network International has refinanced an existing loan, raising $525m from regional and international lenders.

Turkey’s Akbank has refinanced a syndicated loan with tighter margins than its existing facility, as lenders demonstrate unwavering appetite for Turkish debt.

Saudi Aramco’s IPO last year was a historic event for the company and its owner, Saudi Arabia, but despite a record $29.4bn being raised at IPO, international investors stayed away. They had demanded that the shares offered a discount to other listed oil majors, in part because of the political risk associated with the company. The fact it is now a tool in Saudi Arabia’s oil price war with Russia will have vindicated many in their decision to sit out the deal.

Turkey has joined the list of emerging market countries experimenting with quantitative easing programmes in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis engulfing conventional funding markets.

HSBC has promoted two bankers internally to head up its capital markets business in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

Emerging markets bondholders started the week in another round of pain as the price of oil fell to a 17-year low, dragging down risk sentiment and putting fiscal balances into more doubt.

NMC Health’s $360m convertible bonds are trading at mere cents on the dollar, suggesting virtually no recovery value after the scandal-hit UAE hospitals group said on Tuesday it had discovered even more undisclosed debt.

Kuwait's Equate Petrochemical stuck its head above the parapet this week, holding investor calls for a triple-tranche bond issue.