United Arab Emirates

The top tier of emerging markets sovereigns are cramming into this week’s issuance window, as Abu Dhabi followed Qatar’s Tuesday blowout with a triple tranche bond deal of its own.

London-listed UAE payments company Network International has refinanced an existing loan, raising $525m from regional and international lenders.

NMC Health’s $360m convertible bonds are trading at mere cents on the dollar, suggesting virtually no recovery value after the scandal-hit UAE hospitals group said on Tuesday it had discovered even more undisclosed debt.

Finablr’s shares have been suspended and the company has warned that it may go out of business just ten months after ts IPO.

Finablr, the parent company of Travelex, has issued a warning that it may struggle to access financing due to the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus and its association with NMC Health, causing its share price to slump to a record low.

NMC Health, the scandal-hit UAE-based hospitals operator, has $2.7bn in undisclosed debt, taking its total gross debt to around $5bn, and an investigation into its finances has found evidence of serious fraud.

Dubai Islamic Bank, which began roadshows over a week ago for a senior unsecured sukuk, has postponed the deal as a result of the Covid-19 virus, according to bankers near the deal. The spread of the virus has caused sharp swings in global markets, causing havoc in primary markets.

Shares in NMC Health, the London-listed United Arab Emirates hospitals operator, have been suspended. Its convertible bonds have fallen to around 50 cents on the dollar, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) placed it under investigation and the company fired its chief executive.

Dubai Islamic Bank is embarking on a roadshow having mandated nine banks for a long five year or seven year dollar benchmark sukuk.

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.

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.