MENA debt issuance reached $92.4 billion during the first nine months of 2020, up 8 percent from the value recorded during the same period in 2019 and an all-time year-to-date high, global data provider Refinitiv revealed.

After a strong start, with over $9 billion raised in both January and February, March issuance slowed to just $572.0 million. $52.4 billion was recorded during the second quarter of 2020, an all-time quarterly high in the region, followed by $20.5 billion during the third quarter.

According to Refinitiv, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were the most active issuer nations during the first nine months of 2020 with $34.7 billion and $21.9 billion in bond proceeds, respectively. This was followed by Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, issueing $19.4 billion, $6.1 billion and $5.8 billion respectively.

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Standard Chartered took the top spot in the MENA bond underwriter ranking during the first nine months of 2020 with US$16.5 billion of related proceeds, or an 18 percent market share.

The top issuing sectors included government and agencies, financials, energy and power and materials.

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(Reporting by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz) 

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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