Qatar

Qatar's Commercial Bank has signed a $166m loan from a group of Asian lenders, mostly Japanese, extending a trend of Middle Eastern borrowers heading east for cash.

Doha Bank has fully exercised an $80m greenshoe option on its Taiwan targeted syndicated loan, increasing its size to $180m.

Ooredoo executed a swift deal to snap up $500m ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting on Wednesday, printing inside its curve as demand for Middle East credits defied weak markets.

Ooredoo finally opened books for a $500m no-grow 10 year bond on Wednesday after finishing investor meetings last week. With political risks and a US interest rate meeting posing risks to market stability, lead managers are hoping for a swift execution.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has released initial price guidance for a dual trancher in a choppy market, while Qatari telco Ooredoo has chosen to wait.

Al Khaliji Finance (AKCB) made use of its newly minted EMTN programme to sell its first bond in yen on Monday, and other Middle East names could follow.

Rating: A2/BBB+/A+

Ooredoo, the Qatar telecoms company, formerly Qtel, is roadshowing a dollar benchmark via eight banks, potentially adding to increased bond supply from the country, which already stands at seven times the full year total for 2015.

Commercial Bank of Qatar is on track to print a new five year deal as bankers question whether the market is showing signs of too much supply.

Qatar made history on Wednesday by printing the largest ever bond from a CEEMEA borrower. The triple tranche $9bn trade surpassed size expectations, and while initial teething problems saw the five and 10 year tranches soften in secondaries, rival bankers deemed the pricing a triumph.

Middle East bond markets are red hot with $24bn of deals printed so far in 2016 — the highest ever year to date level. However, while Qatar's triple-tranche $9bn jumbo drew a book of $23bn and proved there is abundant demand for high quality GCC borrowers, signs of fatigue are starting to play out in the poor secondary trading performance of some of this week’s other new issues. Virginia Furness reports.

Qatar National Bank signed its €2.25bn loan on Wednesday, increasing the deal by €750m in syndication and soaking up strong demand from lenders in Europe and China.