GCC debt market continues to be strong - The Peninsula Qatar

GCC debt market continues to be strong - The Peninsula Qatar:

Sovereign bond issuances dominated GCC’s debt market activity in the first quarter of 2019, with notable multi-tranche issuances by the State of Qatar and the Saudi Arabia.

The PwC GCC Capital Market Watch for Q1, 2019 noted that Qatar issued $12.0bn worth of sovereign bonds in three tranches: a $6.0bn tranche with a coupon rate of 4.8 percent, maturing in 30 years; a $4.0bn tranche with a coupon rate of 4.0 percent, maturing in 10 years and a $2.0bn tranche with a coupon rate of 3.4 percent, maturing in five years. QNB Finance Limited issued a single tranche of corporate bonds with a coupon rate of 3.5 percent, maturing in five years.

The inclusion of GCC sovereign bonds to JP Morgan’s Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI) from January 2019 is expected to further boost the demand for GCC sovereign bonds, as evidenced by the over-subscription of Qatar and recent Saudi bond issuances.