United Arab Emirates

United Arab Bank has completed and signed a $125m three year loan with a syndicate of six banks.

Abu Dhabi Commerical Bank — an A-rated CEEMEA stalwart — pulled a dollar bond mid-way through execution on Monday afternoon, leaving bankers and buyers questioning whether Middle East liquidity could be much weaker than they had thought.

Rival debt bankers like to pounce on pulled deals like coyotes on wounded possums. But emerging market syndicate officials would do well to look beyond the opportunity for point scoring to what Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s abortive trade really indicates about Middle East liquidity.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi has raised $75m with a trio of private floating rate medium term notes, printing at its shortest maturity yet in the format, and more in such maturities could follow from banks in the region.

Abi Dhabi Commercial Bank has released initial price thoughts equating to a 20bp new issue premium for its bond deal, according to a lead.

The Loan Ranger's trusty companion Silver travelled to the Middle East to learn about the ways of Arabian stallions and the local market, but returned with tales of strange greeting rituals.

Etihad Airways and five other airlines in which it owns stakes, printed an innovative $500m structured bond on Wednesday and bumped it up to $700m a day later on the back of a late reverse enquiry.

Etihad Airways has tapped the $500m structured bond it sold on Wednesday for a further $200m. Despite this, the bonds have staying buoyant at around 101.25 bid.

Persian Gulf equity markets have so far failed to win a boost from last year’s inclusion of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar into the world’s main emerging market index, as well as the more recent opening up of the Saudi Exchange to foreign investors, market participants have said.

Etihad Airways printed its innovative $500m structured bond on Wednesday. It pulled in pricing from guidance but opted for the lower end of the $500m-$750m size range the company was targeting.

Etihad Airways, in search of a platform from which to fund itself and its subsidiaries, has turned to the bond market’s financial laboratory and come up with a unique structure that has emerging market investors doing some serious credit work.

A flood of banks in the Middle East are set to follow the two Abu Dhabi names which are making a dash for cash in the loans market to meet new regulations as they grapple with low oil prices, writes Elly Whittaker.