Published: October 5, 2011
Three local banks have initiated EMTN programmes.
Qatar’s bond market could soon welcome its first issuances this year with Commercial Bank of Qatar, Qatar National Bank and Doha Bank initiating euro medium term note (EMTN) programmes.
If and when these banks decide to issue bonds, they shouldn’t struggle to find investors due to the current performance of the country’s bond market, according Klaus Fröhlich, Morgan Stanley’s head of capital markets in the Middle East. “Yields on their bonds, both government and financial, continue to hold up very well,” he says.
The troubles experienced in more developed markets, such as the US and Europe, should play a part in turning investors towards emerging markets.
Meanwhile, Henrik Raber, Standard Chartered’s global head of debt capital markets, says the lack of fresh deals in Qatar this year has led to a “fair deal of pent up demand”.
He believes that if banks that have prepared an EMTN programme complete an issuance, they are “underpinned by some pretty robust financials and are well capitalised” with the overall banking system in good shape.
For more coverage on Qatar’s bond market read the October-November 2011 edition of EMEA Finance.