Middle East

First Abu Dhabi Bank capped a productive week for both itself and GCC issuers on Wednesday as it sold a £450m three year bond to sterling investors who were raring to diversify their holdings.

Foreign investors maintained their strong bid for Gulf bonds this week, taking half the allocations for a $750m five year sukuk deal from Boubyan Bank.

US buyout group KKR has said it will not make a bid for the beleaguered UAE healthcare company NMC Health, dampening investor hopes of a rescue buyout and sending its shares and convertible bonds lower.

Emirates NBD Bank pulled in demand five times the size of its benchmark dollar bond on Monday, showing little sign of that wider market concerns about the coronavirus outbreak were having any effect on emerging market bonds.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) issued its first post-merger Kangaroo bond on Tuesday, raising A$350m ($234.9m) — becoming the first Middle Eastern bank to tap the market in two years.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is ready to hop into the Kangaroo market this week, having mandated a pair of banks to lead a potential five year Aussie dollar deal, offering an attractive spread.

Shares in NMC Health, the beleaguered UAE healthcare company, surged as much as 18% on Monday morning after it said it had received takeover approaches from buyout firms KKR and GK Investment.

First Abu Dhabi Bank signalled its intention to tap the sterling bond market on Monday, announcing investor calls for a short dated offering.

The Republic of Turkey made its much anticipated start to the year with a bang on Thursday, taking advantage of feverish risk appetite among emerging markets investors to sell its largest ever bond, a $4bn dual tranche deal.

As Goldman Sachs hunts for incremental gains in its investment banking division, it need look no further than its European franchise, where it continues to trail JP Morgan, writes David Rothnie.

Qatar National Bank returned to the euro market for the first time since March 2018 this week, while there was also an unusual outing in Saudi riyal as Emirates NBD made its debut in the currency — the first from a non-Saudi issuer since 2018.

Bahrain Steel to lock in better conditions in refi — Saudi sparks life into local loan mart — Cranfield University soft-sounds private placement market — Golding Homes looks to add hundreds of houses with £120m facility — Great Portland brings ESG loans to UK Reits