Qatar

The State of Qatar and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi looked to sell bonds this week in the wake of extreme oil price volatility that has left commodity exporters with fragile fiscal positions.

The State of Qatar on Tuesday issued a $10bn three tranche bond, with a final demand book in excess of $44bn. The deal came in the wake of extreme oil price volatility, though Qatar has buffers to protect it against any major economic shocks.

Qatar National Bank returned to the euro market for the first time since March 2018 this week, while there was also an unusual outing in Saudi riyal as Emirates NBD made its debut in the currency — the first from a non-Saudi issuer since 2018.

Qatar National Bank took $1bn from bond markets on Wednesday as it tapped investors for the second time this year, with just 1% allocated to Gulf Co-operation Council-based investors.

Qatar National Bank has tightened price guidance for its second international bond of this year and books are already in excess of 3bn for the $1bn-maximum trade.

Qatar Islamic Bank this week printed the Gulf region’s first Formosa sukuk, as issuers there stepped up their use of increasingly attractive Asian debt markets.

Bankers in Doha this week were eager to start a World Cup funding run in Qatar, as concerns over the Gulf state’s conflict with Saudi Arabia began to dissipate.

A handful of rare visitors came to the marker this week to place debt in dollars and yen, and bankers scrambled for a QNB mandate.

Flourishing conditions in the sukuk market stepped up another gear this week as Qatar International Islamic Bank priced an additional tier one bond that one of its leads claimed was the tightest ever such trade from the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Qatar International Islamic Bank mandated banks on Wednesday for an AT1 sukuk, one day after Masraf al Rayan (MAR), another Qatari Islamic bank, had achieved tight pricing on its senior unsecured offering in the format. But another Middle Eastern deal, in Reg S/144A format, was pulled this week.

Masraf Al Rayan, the second largest Islamic bank in Qatar by total assets, is embarking on a roadshow for its debut outing in the international sukuk market.

Middle Eastern banks returned to the Swiss franc market this week after an absence of almost five months with trades from two Gulf banks providing some respite for yield-starved investors.