This year’s Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards saw no shortage of firsts as the regions borrowers and finance professionals pushed the boundaries of the possible through new structures and techniques in a range of transactions.
16 Nov 2018
The United Arab Emirates among other GCC nations has set its sights on the cultivation of a well-diversified, mature economy built on strong, sustainable, globally-integrated businesses. For many borrowers looking to get in front of the trend, the shift will entail a radical transformation in corporate culture and approach to funding.
13 Nov 2018
Turkcell, a leading Turkish phone operator, and the China Development Bank (CDB) signed a multi-jurisdictional loan restructuring facility featuring a rare RMB-denominated tranche in a multi-currency 10-year deal.
6 Nov 2018
The last few months have seen a spate of bond issuances from within Saudi Arabia, marking an upsurge in the frequency of borrowing in the country since the 2014 oil price crash. Yet on the whole sovereign issuance appears to be falling, as ambitious economic reforms begin to address the country’s economic imbalances.
30 Oct 2018
When a UAE and Saudi-led diplomatic and economic blockade on Qatar was first announced in June 2017, many economists were concerned about the Gulf country’s ability to absorb the shock of being cut-off from key trading partners. In an odd twist of fate, the move led to an acceleration in Doha’s drive for economic self-sufficiency that became a boon for some of the country’s key domestic sectors –…
26 Oct 2018
Tevfik Eraslan, the CEO of İş Asset Management, a privately-owned investment manager based in Turkey (which also provides investment advisory services), discusses Q3 prospects for the Turkish economy, inflationary pressures and a diminishing political risk after next year’s elections.
25 Oct 2018
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has over the past year inked a number of landmark – and in some cases pioneering – transactions, part of a bold new strategy aimed at expanding and enhancing the company’s global position. We speak with one of the architects of the funding strategy behind it, Michele Fiorentino, Chief Investment Officer at ADNOC.
3 Oct 2018
Franklin Templeton’s Senior Research Analyst Franck Nowak concedes that some optimism has faded over the past quarter, especially as Fed hikes look inevitable and EM jitters have settled in, but underscores the fact that GCC bonds are performing still well and project finance is expected to drive the deal pipeline for the region in 2018.
28 Sept 2018
In a deal that involves an amortizing loan with debt and equity tranches on a non-recourse project finance basis, the Saudi Arabia-based developer broke new ground by achieving an 18-year tenor, raising USD financing with an EGP-denominated tariff and bringing in a Chinese commercial bank.
26 Sept 2018
Orpic (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) is jointly owned by the Government of Oman and Oman Oil Company and is one of the biggest and fastest growing businesses not just in the country but the region more broadly. Bonds & Loans spoke to Alexandre Clar, MG Treasurer at Orpic, about how the company plans to finance its rapid expansion and new initiatives.
18 Sept 2018