Saudi Arabia

Saudi and Qatar look to be printing jumbo bonds this week, but the timing of both in the same few days after so many months of waiting is prompting chatter about which sovereign has caused the traffic jam and whether political machinations are behind it.

Saudi Arabia has had to scale back banks grappling to get on its $16bn loan, which will be used to refinance a $10bn loan taken out in 2016.

Saudi property developer Dar Al Arkan has tightened price guidance for its sukuk, with books for the deal hitting $1.1bn.

Dar Al Arkan has released initial price guidance for its dollar benchmark sukuk.

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company has mandated eight banks to arrange a dollar benchmark five year sukuk.

Saudi Arabia has increased its loan from $10bn to $16bn as banks line up to join the facility, according to a statement from its Debt Management Office (DMO).

Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) became the second issuer from the Gulf to tap the offshore renminbi market this week, making this year already the biggest on record for Gulf renminbi bonds.

Saudi Arabia’s debt markets are open for business, the hiring charge is on and foreign banks are flooding in, but there has been a struggle to build a local force of primary bond market bankers, boding ill for the capital markets expansion the country is hoping for.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), a diversified chemicals producer, is looking to raise a large syndicated loan with international banks, according to sources close to the potential deal.

Japanese banks have a spring in their step in the Middle East as they roll out expansion plans, but, asks David Rothnie, can they take on more established Western rivals?

Saudi Arabia has requested proposals to refinance its $10bn syndicated loan, signed in 2016. It has also asked for ideas for a dollar bond issue and a possible export credit agency-backed financing, as part of a new financing plan.

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) has signed its biggest ever syndicated loan, for $2.6bn, with a club of eight banks, after tapping the same banks for $1.75bn last year. The loan is an unsecured one year bridge facility.