Middle East

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

Qatar National Bank took $1bn from bond markets on Wednesday as it tapped investors for the second time this year, with just 1% allocated to Gulf Co-operation Council-based investors.

Dr Suliaman Al Habib Medical Group, one of the largest private health companies in Saudi Arabia, has announced it is seeking to list on the Tadawul stock exchange. It is the first company to attempt an IPO there since the record listing of Saudi Aramco last December.

Saudi Arabia's Saline Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) signed a $426.5m-equivalent loan with a consortium of local lenders. The deal comes after a disappointing year for international lenders, who were dismayed at the lower than expected volumes of Saudi Arabian activity.

Investors warmly welcomed a TL2.6bn ($440m) block trade in Turkish bank Yapi Kredi on Wednesday night. But market participants are yet to be convinced that the country’s equity capital markets are fully reopened.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has raised a $600m syndicated facility, which replaces a number of uncommitted bilateral loans.