Middle East

EM investors have had plenty to play for this week with a boost to Turkish GDP buoying support for Yapi Kredi, and more Russian supply. Qatar remains one to watch however, though the country’s fundamentals have not changed.

Yapi Kredi hit screens on Wednesday with a new seven year note and will be hoping to capitalise on more positive economic indicators from Turkey, while offering some juice to overcome any investor fatigue around buying Turkish bank debt, according to a buy-side analyst.

As concerns mount over the diplomatic stand-off between six Gulf states and Qatar, GlobalCapital investigated the immediate impact on the loan market in the region as well as its likely consequences and discovered a mixed picture.

Diplomatic tension in the Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and others has rattled the financial markets. But as the political trouble escalates, what that spells for the region’s capital markets is far from clear, write Bianca Boorer, Virgina Furness and Sharon Kimathi.

Bank ABC as sole initial mandated lead arranger has completed a $125m syndicated loan for Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company.

Turkey took €2.5bn of orders for its new euro trade on Wednesday, which bankers said was a strong showing despite the fact that market volatility and Turkey’s involvement in the Qatar crisis meant that the issuer did not print at the tight end of guidance.

Oman's plans for loan market financing this year are taking shape, with the sultanate lining up an 'orderly queue" of deals, according to a banker involved in several of them.

Turkey has returned to the market with a euro trade as it looks to re-engage with investors and refresh its “stale” curve.

Tensions in the GCC are rattling the buyside as both bank and non-bank investors wait for clarity over how the rift between Qatar and other regional states will develop. In the broader CEEMEA debt market, investors are eyeing Turkey’s new euro trade as an opportunity to find some juice in the low yield environment, and anticipating the dual tranche offering from Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.

GCC debt markets are experiencing their first big wobble since gaining prominence as the most prolific issuers in CEEMEA, and no one saw it coming. The recent Qatar-related sell-off is both a stark reminder that EM assets are not a one-way bet, and highlights the vulnerabilities of a debt market fuelled largely by local bank demand.

Qatari dollar bonds sold off by as much as five cash points on Tuesday after the central banks of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia demanded banks to provide details of their exposure to Qatar. The move follows countries in the region severing ties with the gas-rich state, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Republic of Turkey has turned to euros for its second trade since its constitutional referendum on April 16, as Yapi Kredi markets a lira denominated Eurobond.