Middle East

Bahrain’s decision to revive last week's cancelled bond sale was driven by reverse enquiry from investors who were unperturbed by the issuer’s new junk status, according to bankers on the deal.

The Islamic Development Bank is embarking on a three day sukuk roadshow, starting on Sunday.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has returned to tap bonds less than a week after an unexpected Standard & Poor’s downgrade led to the issuer cancelling a $750m dual tranche bond increase. Rival bankers said the strategy was right, but were surprised by the tight pricing offered.

Bahrain’s decision to pull its $750m tap on Thursday was hailed by some as a prudent move to protect investors, but aggressive secondary market action following the downgrade has still left some smarting, writes Virginia Furness.

Bahrain joined Poland this week in the dubious honour of being downgraded by Standard & Poor’s after the pricing of a new bond but before settlement.

Bahrain took the decision to pull its $750m tap on Thursday morning after a shock move by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the sovereign to junk. Bankers on the deal have criticised S&P for its “clumsy” timing.

In this year’s round of Turkish bank loan refinancings, dollar commitments will receive a higher margin than those in euros, in a rare move to encourage more lending in the currency,

Bahrain increased the size of its bond tap on Tuesday from $500m to $750m. While bankers away from the trade said while it came cheap for a tap, it was not surprising given the challenges the country faces.

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) is raising a murabaha loan which was launched at $200m but will grow far beyond that size, according to a banker on the deal.

Kuwait National Petroleum Company is in talks for $10bn of loans which have been in the pipeline for almost a year, although syndication has not taken off yet.

Bahrain reopened its 2021s and 2026s with close to a 50bp concession on Tuesday — evidence of the fact that wider spreads in the Gulf bond market are here to stay.

The syndicate for Akbank’s bellwether one year loan refinancing could change as geopolitical and liquidity concerns affect banks’ appetite for the tightly priced Turkish loan.