The central bank of Bahrain will issue bonds this year, one of a series of issuances planned by Gulf countries to finance potential budget deficits and bolster debt markets.
For 2009, Bahrain is budgeting for total expenditure of US$5.5 billion (Dh20.2bn) against income of $3.7bn, leaving a record projected deficit of $1.7bn. The bond issuance will help plug this gap.
“We are working on two issues, one in local currency and one in dollars,” the Bahrain central bank governor, Rasheed al Maraj, said at the GCC Banking Conference in Bahrain. “This will hopefully come soon. We are finalising the programme with the ministry of finance.”
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