Middle East

Emerging market bankers are optimistic for a busy first quarter after markets opened on Tuesday in a much stronger position than they had a year ago. Sovereign issuers from the Middle East and CEE are expected to lead the charge.

The global rise in dollar funding, combined with political upheaval and the heavy depreciation of the lira are destroying some of the historically borrower-friendly terms available in the Turkish loan market. Elly Whittaker reports.

Strong credit fundaments and a supportive technical bid from local investors should help the GCC’s borrowers to weather any volatility thrown at them in 2017. But analysts warn of political threats putting negative pressure on the region’s bond prices. Virginia Furness reports.

CEEMEA borrowers had their busiest year since 2013 this year, issuing $157bn of international bonds which is just shy of double 2015’s volumes.

Turkish participation bank Turkiye Finans (TFKB) has agreed a $180m Islamic club loan with similar pricing to its loans in recent years, despite sector-wide downgrades for Turkish banks after a turbulent year in the country in 2016.

Four European lenders have turned down a $2bn loan for National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), while local banks are starting to return to secondary markets for the first time in a year — signs that the Middle Eastern loan market could see a different set of banks driving it in 2017. Elly Whittaker reports.

It’s that time of year when analysts dust off their crystal balls and make predictions for the next 12 months. In December 2015 not many were forecasting that Britain would vote to leave the EU, and even fewer were betting on a Donald Trump presidential victory, so investors would be wise to treat such missives with caution. Political risk is a capricious beast, even for the most seasoned market observers.

Turkey’s Elazig Hospital has placed an innovative project bond, the structure of which enabled it to achieve a rating two notches above the Turkish sovereign. With infrastructure financing needs huge in the emerging markets, the deal sets a strong precedent for future issuance.

Equate Petrochemical Company, the Kuwaiti energy firm that made its global bond market debut in October, is on track to become only the second borrower from the jurisdiction to issue in sukuk format.

It has been another testing year for banks in the Middle East. A strengthening dollar abroad, pallid economic growth at home and political instability still flaring around the region have hampered expansion plans and put a squeeze on profits. But some banks have weathered this storm well and have proven once again how resilient the Middle Eastern banking market really is. To recognise the outstanding performances of these institutions, Asiamoney is pleased to announce the winners of our awards for best banks in the Middle East 2016.

NMC Health, the London-listed company that claims to be the leading private sector healthcare operator in the United Arab Emirates, raised £255.4m on Wednesday in an intraday equity bookbuild.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi signed a $2bn three year loan on Tuesday, cementing the bank group for its $175bn merger with First Gulf Bank, though some key European banks turned down a role on the deal.