After a lacklustre start to the year, at least compared with the deluge of issuance in 2009, regional governments and companies are again rushing to tap international debt markets for finance, bankers say.
Last month Dubai sold a $1.25bn bond, while Emaar, the property developer, issued $500m of convertible bonds. This month Qatar Islamic Bank sold $750m of Islamic paper, or sukuk, while Qtel, the Qatari telecommunications operator, issued a $1.5bn bond.
More issuance is expected by the end of the year. Dewa, Dubai’s utility, the Islamic Development Bank and Apicorp, an investment company jointly owned by the Arab oil exporters, are all in the process of selling large bonds. Bankers speculate that Abu Dhabi may also sell a sovereign or sovereign-linked bond soon.
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