Middle East
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Even the big beast of the Middle East is suffering the financing pressure sweeping the region. The margin on oil-drenched Saudi Arabia’s $10bn loan, revealed this week, compared to what it might have coughed up just months ago shows no borrower is immune, writes Elly Whittaker. -
Investors and analysts found encouragement this week in the resilience of oil prices after the failure of OPEC talks in Doha on Sunday. But there are signs that the positive mood will not last long.
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Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi (Vakifbank) will open books next week on its inaugural covered bond, according to a official at the bank.
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Vakifbank has bucked the trend in Turkish bank loan refinancing. Its latest $920m-equivalent loan raised a similar amount of dollars as last year despite its compatriots enduring falling commitments from lenders in the currency.
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Commitments are due for Qatar National Bank's €1.5bn loan on Friday, after only a short stint in the market. The deal is expected to entice a raft of European lenders keen to put cheaply raised euros to work.
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Favourable funding conditions should pave the way for an increasing amount of Turkish mortgage backed covered bond supply over the next few months, said Moody’s. Covered bonds will reduce Turkish banks’ asset-liability funding mismatch and help diversify their funding, the agency said.
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Saudi Arabia will pay a margin of between 100bp-110bp for its loan of up to $10bn, according to a banker on the deal.
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Luxury hotel complex Atlantis the Palm, is syndicating an $850m-equivalent loan to pay for the next stage of development for the five star resort.
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The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) is moving forward with plans to broaden its China offering with equity futures for mainland companies. Meanwhile, Bank of China Hong Kong (BoCHK) has received approval to open a branch in Brunei, the first for a Chinese bank.
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Bank Muscat has mandated eight banks for a Reg S dollar benchmark bond.
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The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has mandated three banks to roadshow dollar benchmark, jumping into the market for its first bond since 2009 ahead of up to $20bn of potential sovereign supply from the region this year.
