Middle East

Hopes of primary issuance from CEEMEA receded again on Thursday as regional borrowers were caught up in the global market turmoil.

The recent new issues from Turk Eximbank and Kuveyt Turk are both trading well, leading to hopes that further bonds from the country may follow.

Oman Telecoms (Omantel) is withdrawing a $130m dual currency sukuk it issued on January 27, two sources have told GlobalCapital.

Sharjah Islamic Bank is close to launching a $200m murabaha loan, according to bankers.

Kuveyt Turk, an Islamic Turkish bank, survived a rough market on Monday to print a $350m Basel III compliant tier two sukuk. Even the leads were surprised by how well the deal went, although their own orders and the high yield on offer helped.

Kuveyt Turk has released initial price thoughts for the third Basel III compliant tier two bond to come out of Turkey.

Saudi Arabia will likely issue its long anticipated debut dollar bond in dual sukuk and conventional format, according to bankers in the region.

The head of Oman’s central bank has called for his country's borrowers to embrace capital market funding, with the sovereign widely expected to lead the charge itself with a large bond or sukuk.

Abu Dhabi’s government related entities (GREs) are expected to turn to the loan market this year as redemptions and expansion projects in the region increase the need for funding.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is considering a tap of its dual tranche note issued last November in a bid to save its investment grade rating, according to investors in the region.

In a secretive deal that has only come to light now, NBAD signed $1bn of tightly priced one year loans with five close relationship banks at the end of last year. The lenders were Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole, Citigroup, HSBC and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment firm, has launched a $2bn loan refinancing and will likely aim for a tight margin despite a choppy Middle East loan market, according to bankers.