Middle East GCC League Tables

Racing to the chequered flag In January 2009, the Abu Dhabi government unveiled their Economic Vision 2030 designed to shape the structure of the fast growing Emirate over the next 20 years. Despite worldwide economic gloom, gross domestic product is forecast to grow by 7% over the next five years and in particular, the plan calls for a diversification away from traditional oil and petrochemical related revenues, with oil planned to contribute only 50% to growth within the next 10 years. High levels of economic growth and the development of the...

As the saying goes: "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." So in the current cash-strapped global economy that we have all found ourselves in during the last few months, anyone with spare cash has found themselves treated like royalty. This has meant that the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the vast sums of petrodollars that his oil-rich emirate accumulated when oil prices were booming and breaking records, has been treated particularly well. Everyone from banks to football teams have been courting...

Going into the year, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), First Gulf Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) had their rating outlooks downgraded by Moody's from stable to negative, with previously positive Dubai Bank brought down to stable. Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings on DIB from A/A-1 to A–/A-2, and downgraded the outlook from stable to negative. Emirates Bank International and National Bank of Dubai were revised downwards from stable to negative, while Sharjah Islamic Bank went from positive to...

While the Western world struggled to overcome the credit issues brought on by the collapse of confidence in US sub-prime mortgages, the first few months of 2008 were a golden age for the countries of the GCC. International banks, watching their profits dry up at home, flocked to the region to do business. Many GCC companies took advantage of the money being offered; none with more vigour than those based in Dubai. At one stage, during the month of July, five state-backed Dubai corporates launched loans into the market, on top of existing supply...

The credit crisis has badly affected the sukuk market and with assets expected to come under increasing stress, investor differentiation between the structural substance of deals will become ever more critical. However, given the Gulf region's large financing needs and the desire of many global lenders to tap its rich seam of demand, the longer-term picture is expected to remain positive. Islamic finance should be able to withstand the current economic crisis and may well emerge stronger, with a return to the 30% to 35% annual growth rates in...

The recent downturn in the global economy has had a negative impact in relation to the number and size of sukuk being issued both globally and from within the GCC. That said, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in our opinion, may emerge as a key player in contributing to an increase in corporate sukuk issuance originating from the GCC. The GCC and global sukuk market Sukuk have gained great popularity over the past five to 10 years. During this period the volume of GCC sukuk issuance has risen in line with the overall increased activity in debt...

The race between the A-list investment banks to land big-sum Gulf tickets has intensified as more borrowers in the region plan to access the international bond markets to finance ambitious growth projects. Lead managers are using various tactics from innovative bond structures to relationships to target the untapped investor base. About US$15bn of potential supply is expected from Abu Dhabi alone, while Qatari companies are planning to attract more than US$15bn through the sale of bonds. New issues from other Gulf states are likely to follow,...

With project financing and FI dominant until the early part of the 2000s, the Middle East was largely a backwater loan market. This changed dramatically as the region's largely state-backed corporates used debt to gear up their equity investments in what turned out to be something of a global shopping spree. And the growth rate was dramatic. From signing 54 loans for just under US$14bn in 2000, at the height of the debt boom in 2007 Middle East entities signed 162 loans worth close to US$130bn. Even as global markets slumped in 2008, loans...

The deal that has been signed was the US$100m five-month bridge loan to fund initial construction on the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) sewage treatment plant being built in joint venture with Veolia and Besix. The deal is priced at 190bp with fees at around 100bp. The funding banks are Calyon, NBAD and Natixis. The funding is following a similar template to the larger Shuweihat 2 independent water and power project (IWPP) scheme in Abu Dhabi, being developed by ADWEA and Suez. A bridge loan first, given the need to raise money...

At the end of April 2009, with the global equity markets still in the depths of despair and the IPO window largely closed for all but the bravest of issuers, Vodafone Qatar QSC defied the sceptics and closed its QR3.4bn (US$940m) IPO. Despite being targeted at just Qatari individuals and Qatari-owned institutions, the offer was fully covered, with additional unsatisfied institutions unable to receive shares due to an offer structure designed to skew allocations towards Qatari retail investors. At the close of the subscription period, the IPO...

At the start of the year, bankers were concerned that activity on Middle Eastern equity capital markets would not live up to the inflated expectations of 2008. With many leading institutions having recently expanded operations in the GCC in readiness for a boom, concerns mounted that newly expanded, Dubai-based ECM teams would stand idle. Saudi Arabia, the region's largest and most mature economy, seemed to provide an answer. Its economy is more diversified than those of neighbouring Emirates and it boasts a cash-rich investor base. It also had...