Middle East

Turkcell, Turkey’s leading mobile phone operator, is preparing the ground for issuing a new Eurobond, and has applied to the country’s capital markets board for approval.

The Commercial Bank of Qatar sold three year Swiss franc bonds on Tuesday, to serve as the best illustration yet of the rekindling of the relationship between Swiss buyers and Middle Eastern financial credits that could bloom into a record year for issuance, writes Silas Brown.

State-owned holding company Investment Corp Dubai (ICD) is looking to refinance a loan maturing in June.

Garanti Bank and Vakifbank have joined the spring round of loan refinancings by Turkish banks.

Yapi Kredi has privately placed Turkish mortgage backed covered bonds to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to promote energy saving improvements in the financial sector.

The Government of the Emirate of Sharjah has mandated five banks for a benchmark dollar sukuk — its first note in that market for over two years, though it did sell a Panda bond as recently as last month.

Qatar National Bank and Bank of China kept the momentum going in the offshore renminbi bond market this week, with the latter’s Rmb4bn ($632m) deal the largest in nearly three years. Their success is an encouraging sign about appetite for the currency.

Lebanese lender Fransabank is making its debut green bond offering with a trade anchored and supported by the International Financing Corp. The deal marks the second such bond from the MENA region, and a third is on the way as international financing institutions (IFIs) and local banks look to the capital markets to fund the region’s energy needs.

Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest bank by assets and capital, has named leads for a five year dollar note.

Before 2017, US crowd services provider Equinix had not issued a bond in euros. But it has now visited the European high yield market three times, having completed its latest deal on Wednesday.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has mandated eight banks to roadshow a benchmark five year Reg S sukuk with a view to adding a 10 year tranche as well.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) kept the momentum in the offshore renminbi bond market going with a new issuance on Tuesday, showing there is still appetite for the currency.