Private placement of bonds in GCC witness a 32% surge this year

Private placement of bonds in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has surged by 32% to US$15.9 billion till date during the current year supported by Dubai government’s privately-placed Sukuk to the tune of US$569 million and that of Emirate Bank’s amounting to US$499 million.

Bahrain has also tapped the dollar-bond market twice within a span of three months with a US$435 million privately-placed Sukuk. Meanwhile, the Oman government is reportedly marketing a private benchmark dollar-denominated bond issue.

Meanwhile, Qatar National Bank also mobilized US$2.62 billion this year through the private placement route. All these have lead to a significant uptick in the volume of private placement issuance, according to media reports.