Bahrain

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is finalising its seven year loan this week and will increase the deal beyond the $750m starting size after enjoying a strong oversubscription.

Omani borrowers have lit up the loan market with deals this year but Bahrain — another country vulnerable to oil price shocks — has seen little deal flow. Two large dollar deals for Bahraini borrowers in recent weeks, however, have shown the country is back in the fray.

Bahrain-based Bank ABC is beefing up its capital markets business and has made two senior hires from Standard Chartered and First Gulf Bank.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association have added to the number of Shariah compliant hedging tools available to investors with two standards for Islamic forward foreign exchange products.

Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain’s decision to revive last week's cancelled bond sale was driven by reverse enquiry from investors who were unperturbed by the issuer’s new junk status, according to bankers on the deal.

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.