"An explosion of debt issuance" is how Tom Healy, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, describes the capital markets environment in the Gulf. Bond issuance volumes out of the region reached $29.4 billion in 2009 up to October 22, more than double the $11.2 billion raised over the same period a year earlier, according to Dealogic. The number of deals has risen to 33 from 21, with JPMorgan ranked first in the league table.
This year the debt market has become dominated by government-linked entities from the two Gulf states with the least political risk and the most oil wealth per capita: Qatar and, above all, Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the origin of more than 60% of the volume issued by the Gulf region as a whole. Qatari issuance has also increased 40 times. Last year, on the other hand, entities from Dubai issued more...
