MENA Borrowers Weigh Costs and Benefits of Debut DCM Deals as Appetite for Funding Diversification Grows

CFOs and Treasurers from across the region are looking at ways to diversify their funding base and reduce their dependence on the region’s deep-pocketed lenders, with the debt capital markets – which has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade – looking increasingly likely to be the dominant means of doing so. But how to shift internal cultures around disclosure, engage new investors, and align their expectations with an asset buyer base outside the region remain key challenges to moving into the DCM market, according to those who participated with an exclusive roundtable discussion on funding diversification hosted by Bonds & Loans and Mashreq Bank in Dubai last month.