Middle East

Akbank is kicking off the first set of refinancings of the year for Turkish banks, launching its syndication with a smaller volume and tighter margins than last year’s deal. But lenders are divided on whether the deal represents an achievement for the Turkish bank, or betrays an outlook festooned with risk. Mariam Meskin reports.

Mashreqbank, the largest privately owned bank in the United Arab Emirates, is embarking on a roadshow to market a dollar benchmark five year fixed rate Reg S senior unsecured bond.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Isbank will become the property of the country's finance ministry, in what a US-based investor said he saw as a 'further consolidation of Erdogan power'.

Nasdaq Dubai has entered into a licensing agreement to offer derivatives based on the FTSE Russell Saudi Arabia equity indices.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside of the oil and gas sectors, has kicked off the year with a $6.5bn term loan facility, as market conditions remain “borrower friendly”.

The Middle East and North Africa region will provide a large chunk of emerging market bond supply in 2019, investors said this week. The region provides excellent value, in spite of fluctuations in the oil price.

Bankers are confident that Oman can overcome the obstacles in the way of its borrowing capabilities, namely a large fiscal deficit and speculative grade ratings, in order to raise financing from international lenders.

The hopes of emerging markets participants were proven well founded on Wednesday when US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell walked back from the aggressive trajectory of rate hikes he had previously suggested.

Dubai Investments Park Development Company has postponed its planned dollar five year sukuk.

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.

Georges Elhedery will be moving from Dubai to London in order to take up a new role as head of global markets at HSBC. He replaces Thibaut de Roux, who reportedly left in September after an accusation of inappropriate conduct.

Turkey hit screens for a quick trip to the euro market to sell its second bond of the year on Thursday, and managed to slice 25bp from its yield.