Qatar

With a few weeks to go before asset managers begin their annual pilgrimage to the globe's beachfronts, the last few borrowers are slipping into the primary market before liquidity evaporates in the summer heat. Nostrum’s trade this week provided evidence of the slowdown in demand for risker credits.

Qatari banks have been involved in several syndicated loans in the past month, despite the stand-off between the nation and six other Middle Eastern states.

CEEMEA primary issuance will be clustered around the last few days of the week as Liquid Telecom is yet to announce price guidance on its $600m five non-call three year trade.

Foreign ministers from across the Gulf meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the continued tensions with Qatar, as bank analysts predicted the Saudi Arabia-led coalition against Qatar will reject the country’s response to its demands.

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting which began on May 26, has caused delays to loan deals that were expected to close this week in the Middle East, according to bankers in the region.

As concerns mount over the diplomatic stand-off between six Gulf states and Qatar, GlobalCapital investigated the immediate impact on the loan market in the region as well as its likely consequences and discovered a mixed picture.

Diplomatic tension in the Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and others has rattled the financial markets. But as the political trouble escalates, what that spells for the region’s capital markets is far from clear, write Bianca Boorer, Virgina Furness and Sharon Kimathi.

GCC debt markets are experiencing their first big wobble since gaining prominence as the most prolific issuers in CEEMEA, and no one saw it coming. The recent Qatar-related sell-off is both a stark reminder that EM assets are not a one-way bet, and highlights the vulnerabilities of a debt market fuelled largely by local bank demand.

Qatari dollar bonds sold off by as much as five cash points on Tuesday after the central banks of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia demanded banks to provide details of their exposure to Qatar. The move follows countries in the region severing ties with the gas-rich state, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar’s debt sold off sharply on Monday after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations, as well as all land and sea contacts, with the gas-rich state. Bankers recall a similar “flare up” in 2014, but are concerned about stability in the region’s financial markets.

Rating: A1/A-/A+

Gulf banks brought much needed variety to the sukuk market this week with single-A rated Qatar Islamic and double-B rated Albaraka Banking Group offering debt at both ends of the rating and capital spectra.