GCC Unrated Issuers Have $67 Billion of Debt, May Sell Bonds, Moody's Says - Bloomberg

Unrated corporate issuers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have more than $67 billion of total debt outstanding and are likely to issue conventional bonds, sukuks and structured-finance instruments, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Short-term debt comprises 28 percent of this debt, Moody’s said in a report e-mailed today. “The proportion of bank debt for unrated corporates is high, which Moody’s believes makes such corporates more likely to pursue debt funding as an alternative,” it said.

Moody’s estimates that the total debt for rated corporates in the GCC is $145 billion. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.