Middle East

The Kingdom of Bahrain has hired banks for a multi tranche Islamic and conventional trade that at the long end could stretch as far as 30 years, a tenor that some bankers have labelled “ambitious”.

Turkey ignored softness in the market to double the size of its 30 year dollar bonds on Wednesday, after reopening its May 2047s for a further $1.75bn.

US prosecutors have widened the net in their case against Turkey’s Halkbank after bringing new charges against the country’s former economy minister and the bank's former general manager for breaking Iranian sanctions, sending Halkbank assets lower but not hitting the rest of the country’s banking sector.

United Biscuits’ £725m ($948.23m) loan is being split into two term loans and a revolving credit facility with pricing linked to the company’s leverage, according to a banker on the deal.

London’s emerging market bankers are growing increasingly concerned with how to deal with expectations that the Qatari central bank will encourage its lenders into international bond markets, as tensions between the country and its Gulf neighbours continue.

Albaraka Turk, Turkey’s first participation, or Islamic, bank, kicked off the syndication of a $100m murabaha facility on Tuesday.

The dry spell is over for investors in emerging market debt with several mandates hitting the screens on Tuesday. The first trades will be eagerly watched as a barometer for new issue premiums after a summer that has seen escalating geopolitical tensions and further questions about the direction of travel of both the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve.

The first round of transfers has been completed for a $295m borrowing for UAE based healthcare provider Aster DM, according to sources.

The two structured bonds issued by EA Partners that have suffered in secondary markets as a result of the the collapse of Air Berlin have recovered three cash points after the borrower issued a statement to say it anticipated that the next coupon payments will be made.

United Biscuits, the maker of McVitie’s biscuits and Jacob's Crackers, signed a £725m syndicated loan on Thursday with 21 banks.

The Communist Party congress is set to kick off on October 18, the emirate of Sharjah plans the Middle East’s first Panda bond issuance, and Swift data says the renminbi was the fifth most used currency for payments globally in July.

International banks spent the summer applying for licences and securing talent as they beat a path to Saudi Arabia. History suggests that many will leave disappointed, argues David Rothnie.