Middle East

Israel burst onto screens on Wednesday to open CEEMEA issuance for 2017. A popular name with investors, the 20bp premium offered at initial price thoughts seemed to go down well with the €6.5bn of orders submitted before lunch.

Latin American issuers are leading the charge to primary markets this year so far in emerging market bonds but Wednesday saw the first CEEMEA issuer to open books as Israel tried a dual tranche 10 and 20 year trade.

Gulf International Bank kicked off investor meetings this week for what could be the first publicly syndicated bond from the Middle East this year.

Oman Oil and Bank Muscat are set to kick off a rash of loans in the sultanate in the coming months, with a number of state owned entities in discussion with lenders as the government looks to address a budget deficit.

Dubai is close to picking banks for a $3bn loan to fund its airport expansion, according to loan officials, while flydubai is also in talks with banks. But discussion of a deal to back the emirate’s metro development plans are said to have “gone quiet” as the state seeks to avoid deal congestion.

Equity capital markets in Emea reopened after the holidays this week, with details of the first new capital increases in France and the UK being made public.

Turkish borrowers face a tough year as security concerns about the country threaten access to a funding market that is already expected to suffer volatility. But bankers say it is business as usual in Turkey, and investors agree that Turkish spreads are still an attractive prospect.

The IPO of Saudi Aramco is likely to remain a top talking point for equity capital markets bankers for much of 2017, but another Saudi deal that is likely to prove more straightforward to bring to market has taken another step forward.

Israel became the first emerging market sovereign to put down a marker in the bond market this year with the announcement of a European roadshow next week.

Middle Eastern issuance is set to begin for the year with Gulf International Bank, which is looking to refinance a $500m bond due in December. The issuer is expected to be the first of many hoping to lock in funding before the next US rate hike pushes up borrowing costs.

Likely faced with an assault course of volatility inducing events this year, emerging market issuers will be keen to raise cash early before Brexit/Trump/rate rises/European elections (delete as appropriate) come to blight the market.

The next chapter of the renminbi internationalisation process could soon be taking place in the commodities market with Amundi Asset Management predicting the rise of petro-renminbi in 2017.