Monday 22 November 2010

gulfnews : Federal-level rating could expand UAE's investor base

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's is keen on expanding its sovereign ratings services in the Middle East. Although the agency rates the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah separately, it does not rate the UAE federation as a sovereign.

In a recent interview with Gulf News Moritz Kraemer, S&P's head of sovereign ratings for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the absence of a sovereign rating for the federation will be an obstacle to widening the investor base for the country as a single unit.

S&P has assigned an AA rating for Abu Dhabi and an A rating for the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. Although Dubai had expressed its interest in getting a credit rating for itself in the past, prior to its recent bond issue, the emirate's Department of Finance said this was not the right time for credit rating. The unrated issue was four times subscribed and priced at a yield of 6.7 per cent on the $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) five-year tranche and 7.75 per cent for the $750 million 10-year tenor with spreads of 542.7 and 527 basis points respectively, over US Treasuries.

No comments:

Post a Comment