GCC

Saudi Arabian food and beverage producer Almarai has secured a $100m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support expansion in Egypt and Jordan.

Riyad Bank has tightened price guidance on its 10 year non-call five tier two bond, with order books at over $4.8bn for the note.

Saudi Arabia's Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company will issue its second sukuk in four months as it embarked upon a roadshow on Monday for a seven year Reg S dollar deal.

First Abu Dhabi Bank capped a productive week for both itself and GCC issuers on Wednesday as it sold a £450m three year bond to sterling investors who were raring to diversify their holdings.

Foreign investors maintained their strong bid for Gulf bonds this week, taking half the allocations for a $750m five year sukuk deal from Boubyan Bank.

US buyout group KKR has said it will not make a bid for the beleaguered UAE healthcare company NMC Health, dampening investor hopes of a rescue buyout and sending its shares and convertible bonds lower.

Emirates NBD Bank pulled in demand five times the size of its benchmark dollar bond on Monday, showing little sign of that wider market concerns about the coronavirus outbreak were having any effect on emerging market bonds.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) issued its first post-merger Kangaroo bond on Tuesday, raising A$350m ($234.9m) — becoming the first Middle Eastern bank to tap the market in two years.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is ready to hop into the Kangaroo market this week, having mandated a pair of banks to lead a potential five year Aussie dollar deal, offering an attractive spread.

Shares in NMC Health, the beleaguered UAE healthcare company, surged as much as 18% on Monday morning after it said it had received takeover approaches from buyout firms KKR and GK Investment.

First Abu Dhabi Bank signalled its intention to tap the sterling bond market on Monday, announcing investor calls for a short dated offering.

Qatar National Bank returned to the euro market for the first time since March 2018 this week, while there was also an unusual outing in Saudi riyal as Emirates NBD made its debut in the currency — the first from a non-Saudi issuer since 2018.