Middle East

Saudi’s ACWA Power priced its long awaited debut bond on Wednesday, raising $814m with the secured note. Months of work spent structuring the deal and educating investors were rewarded, with the borrower achieving a combination of size and price it would not have managed with a plain vanilla bond, according to a lead banker.

An inaugural deal from second tier Turkish lender Fibabanka on Wednesday offered further proof that concerns over the country’s political direction have failed to dampen investor confidence in its banks.

The Republic of Turkey is out with guidance for a new 30 year note, in a move that rival bankers have said is “perfectly timed". The sovereign is on track to complete all of its planned funding for the year in the first five months.

Telia, the Nordic telecoms group, came to market on Wednesday night with a large block trade in Turkcell, the Turkish firm in which it owned 38% directly and indirectly.

Oman Oil wants to refinance the $1bn tranche from a $1.85bn loan it took out in 2014, adding to the company’s much wider financing plan, according to a banker on the deal.

Kuwait Energy, the independent Kuwaiti oil and gas company, is to test investor appetite towards the recovering energy sector, having announced the launch of its long awaited IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.

The bond pipeline in CEEMEA is light with only well flagged borrowers opening books in a week that is peppered with data points and political risk events.

Orders of over $1.5bn enabled Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to squeeze down guidance for its amortising note on Wednesday.

Fibabanka emerged with pricing on Wednesday for the first Turkish tier two bond since last month’s constitutional reform referendum.

Despite a public holiday on Monday and the second round of the French presidential election due this Sunday, the IPO market is vibrant, with two more names joining the pre-summer pipeline so far this week.

Global Ports Holding, the independent cruise port operator, has set the price range for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

Middle Eastern governments and companies rose to the financing challenge set by falling oil prices in 2016, rethinking their operations, cutting costs and turning to the international bond markets in committed fashion to plug funding gaps. Issuers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries raised $66bn last year, and this year’s first quarter total of nearly $25bn suggests issuance will be similarly high in 2017.