Middle East

BNP Paribas has filled the gap it had in Middle East DCM with an internal move of a banker working in sustainable capital markets.

Saudi Arabia is expected to print large tranches for its new 2029 and 2050 bond issue but will need to pay up for them in its first deal since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country's consulate in Istanbul last year.

Israel hit the market on Wednesday with a dual tranche euro deal, looking to test demand at the long end of the yield curve. The country’s reputation as a quality issuer appears to have carried it through.

Yapi Kredi, the Turkish bank, has set the pricing for its additional tier one bond though eschewing a “traditional bookbuild process”.

Emerging markets have leapt back into action as investors take full advantage of the wider levels on offer in the asset class. Even some of the sector’s most turbulent credits are coming to market.

Bankers have confirmed that Qatar National Bank has entered the second phase of syndication to refinance an existing €2.25bn facility due for maturity in May 2019.

Yapı ve Kredi Bankası is planning an additional tier one dollar benchmark that looks likely to be the first issue of non-sovereign international bonds from the country since April.

Turkey is on track to continue its recovery in financial markets, as inflation declines and the lira rebounds from its crisis of August, according to syndicated loan bankers.

Emerging market issuers are hesitant to rush back into the market in the new year. Most are waiting on the sidelines until the tone becomes more settled and investor desks are fully staffed.

Turkey’s inflation fell for the second month running in December, prompting some analysts to predict that the central bank will cut the main interest rate in January, much to the concern of syndicate bankers.

Israel has opened the CEEMEA primary bond market for the year, mandating three banks for a euro denominated 10 year and/or long dated benchmark Reg S note.

Qatar’s Doha Bank has closed a $525m unsecured facility as lenders demonstrated healthy appetite for the small and politically isolated Gulf country.