FT.com - Guarantees boost bond sales revival

After a troubled start to the year, the regional debt market has regained some of its poise, with a series of large bond sales from governments and state-linked entities.

Although bond sales fell short of the activity seen during much of last year, the total value of conventional bonds issued in the Gulf almost doubled from the first three months of the year to $6.6bn in the second quarter, says a report by NCB Capital.

Gulf bond yields have also fallen to about 5.6 per cent, according to the HSBC-Nasdaq Dubai bond index, and are lower than before Dubai World, the emirate’s troubled conglomerate, announced its debt restructuring in late November.