United Arab Emirates

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) has kicked off the syndication of its first syndicated loan for $6bn, after increasing its size and tightening pricing further in response to high demand for the facility.

Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) Education of Dubai is to launch a $1.2bn syndicated loan, ahead of its planned initial public offering early next year.

Middle Eastern banks are diversifying their funding portfolios by entering the international syndicated loan market for the first time, with Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) signing a deal at the end of September and two more due to sign this month.

Abu Dhabi was on track on Tuesday morning to print the second blowout trade from the Gulf in a week following Saudi Arabia's $12.5bn sale last Wednesday. It was also able to drive pricing through Saudi Arabia’s secondary curve, having taken orders of $30bn.

With some $27.5bn of orders going unallocated in the Saudi Arabia's order book last week, the market is awash with liquidity — much of which has a proven interest in the Gulf. Abu Dhabi has wasted no time in trying to build on Saudi’s success, opening books on its own triple tranche bond offer on Monday.

Dubai healthcare group Aster DM Healthcare has signed a $295m facility with banks from the UAE and India despite its expansion plans in scandal-hit Qatar casting some concerns over the syndication.

Dubai healthcare group Aster DM Healthcare has signed a $295m facility with nine banks, despite concerns that its operations in Qatar would complicate syndication of the debt.

The EM bond market is primed for trades this week, though syndicate bankers said that there were few names ready to pull the trigger other than Ukraine and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which have already hit screens.

The dispute between Qatar and six other Gulf states could curb its chances of plugging the country's banks’ funding needs through the syndicated loan market, leading bankers to believe more private arrangements may be the answer to the isolated gulf state’s woes. Bianca Boorer reports.

Dubai’s Department of Finance has taken out a $1.1bn syndicated loan to finance the expansion of the city's metro line, as part of its plan to host the World Expo 2020.

The two structured bonds issued by EA Partners that have suffered in secondary markets as a result of the the collapse of Air Berlin have recovered three cash points after the borrower issued a statement to say it anticipated that the next coupon payments will be made.

The Communist Party congress is set to kick off on October 18, the emirate of Sharjah plans the Middle East’s first Panda bond issuance, and Swift data says the renminbi was the fifth most used currency for payments globally in July.