Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain has returned to tap bonds less than a week after an unexpected Standard & Poor’s downgrade led to the issuer cancelling a $750m dual tranche bond increase. Rival bankers said the strategy was right, but were surprised by the tight pricing offered.

Bahrain’s decision to pull its $750m tap on Thursday was hailed by some as a prudent move to protect investors, but aggressive secondary market action following the downgrade has still left some smarting, writes Virginia Furness.

Bahrain joined Poland this week in the dubious honour of being downgraded by Standard & Poor’s after the pricing of a new bond but before settlement.

Bahrain took the decision to pull its $750m tap on Thursday morning after a shock move by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the sovereign to junk. Bankers on the deal have criticised S&P for its “clumsy” timing.

Bahrain increased the size of its bond tap on Tuesday from $500m to $750m. While bankers away from the trade said while it came cheap for a tap, it was not surprising given the challenges the country faces.

Bahrain reopened its 2021s and 2026s with close to a 50bp concession on Tuesday — evidence of the fact that wider spreads in the Gulf bond market are here to stay.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is considering a tap of its dual tranche note issued last November in a bid to save its investment grade rating, according to investors in the region.

Kingdom of Bahrain

Another week, another couple of difficult Middle East deals for the CEEMEA market. Bahrain and International Bank of Qatar hit the sizes they wanted but found that pricing stuck stubbornly at initial price thoughts, with international investors beginning to close up shop for 2015.

A 12 month roller coaster ride for US rates expectations has ended with the 10 year Treasury yield back where it started, and in the meantime the CEEMEA bond market has been turned on its head for completely unrelated reasons.

Bahrain took $1.5bn from a dual tranche deal this week. But despite the unusual size of each tranche and the lack of price tightening, rival bankers kept their knives sheathed in recognition of how difficult the Middle East market has become.

Bahrain opened books on a dual tranche dollar deal on Tuesday morning, which some investors think could be its last as a pure investment grade credit.