Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”, in its recent research report titled GCC Bonds & Sukuk Market Survey, has highlighted the trends pertaining to bonds and sukuk issuances in the GCC region during 2016.
The report stated that the aggregate primary issuance of bonds and sukuk by GCC entities, including Central Banks Local Issuances (CBLI), GCC Sovereign and Corporate Issuances, totaled $167.54 billion in 2016, a 41.20 percent increase from the total amount raised in 2015.
A substantial increase in activities can be mainly attributable to sovereign issues by GCC governments as a response to plug the budget deficits due to persistently low oil prices. Saudi Arabia was the lead issuer in the GCC during 2016.
During 2016, a total of $65.104 billion was raised by the GCC central banks, namely by the Central Bank of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The Central Bank of Kuwait raised the highest amount with $37.134 billion, representing 57.04 percent of the total amount raised by CBLIs through 65 issuances.
