Qatar Selling Bills at Highest GCC Yields; Arab Credit

Qatar is offering the highest yields on treasury bills in the Gulf Cooperation Council as the world’s richest country seeks to mop up excess funds in the banking system and deepen its debt market.

The central bank of the biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas paid an average yield of 2 percent on 4 billion riyals ($1.1 billion) of notes at its monthly auction April 3, Qatar Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah Saud Al Thani said by phone from Doha yesterday. That compares with three-month-bill yields of 0.36 percent and 1.2 percent in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and 0.19 percent in Belgium, which like Qatar is rated AA at Standard & Poor’s, the third-highest investment grade.