Middle East

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an operator of exchanges and clearing houses, on Monday announced clearing services for CDS referencing Saudi Arabia, as well as for a host of emerging market and Asia-Pacific corporate single names.

With some $27.5bn of orders going unallocated in the Saudi Arabia's order book last week, the market is awash with liquidity — much of which has a proven interest in the Gulf. Abu Dhabi has wasted no time in trying to build on Saudi’s success, opening books on its own triple tranche bond offer on Monday.

Jordan dropped the 10 year bond sounded on its roadshow and choose to focus its attention on the long end on Monday, opening books on a 30 year bond at high 7% area.

Turkey’s Vakifbank has signed its second refinancing facility of the year for $891m equivalent, with a bigger euro tranche than its previous facility, showing banks' preference for financing in euros over dollars.

Dubai healthcare group Aster DM Healthcare has signed a $295m facility with banks from the UAE and India despite its expansion plans in scandal-hit Qatar casting some concerns over the syndication.

Saudi Arabia does not come to market often, but when it does, it does so in size — as this week’s $12.5bn sale proved. In the last 12 months, the Gulf state has raised more in dollar or euro syndications than any other sovereign. The issuer has shown remarkable commitment to weaning its economy off petrodollars as it enlists capital markets to help it plug a $53bn deficit, writes Virginia Furness.

Turkey’s state-owned Ziraat Bank on Monday morning took orders of $1.25bn to print its second senior trade of the year in what bankers said was a notably softer market.

Qatari decision makers have worked hard over recent months to reassure the country’s partners and foreign investors about the country’s economic resilience, in the face of unprecedented strains created by the blockade imposed on June 5th by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain

Saudi Arabia cut through rising swap spreads on Wednesday to print its third jumbo transaction, bringing its funding efforts to $39bn over 12 months. The issuer kept the buyside sweet with around a 10bp new issue concession, and all three tranches were tighter in the secondary market on Thursday.

Dubai healthcare group Aster DM Healthcare has signed a $295m facility with nine banks, despite concerns that its operations in Qatar would complicate syndication of the debt.

Saudi Arabia is having a good week — finally allowing women to drive, albeit not until June 2018, and bookbuilding for a third jumbo international bond. But investors are praying the sovereign does not step on the accelerator too hard and leaves some spread on the table to ensure performance, after a poor week for EM new issues.

EM investors are nervous: only one of the new emerging market sovereign bonds issued in the last two weeks is trading above par and now Saudi Arabia has opened books on what is likely to be a third jumbo transaction.