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JPMorgan Sees Gulf Bond Sales Slipping as Rates, Volatility Rise

  • GCC bonds raised $78 billion last year, down 8 percent vs 2017
  • Rates, spreads may rise on global growth concerns, trade, oil
Visitors pose for photographs on the waterside on Palm Jumeirah island with a view of Dubai Marina district in Dubai.

Visitors pose for photographs on the waterside on Palm Jumeirah island with a view of Dubai Marina district in Dubai.

Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
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JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the biggest arrangers of Gulf bond deals, expects sales to slip in 2019 from last year’s $78 billion as issuers turn cautious amid rising interest rates and market volatility.

In the past, when there has been uncertainty either “in rates or in spreads, regional issuers tended to become more careful and price sensitive,” Hani Deaibes, the U.S. bank’s regional head of debt capital markets, said in a phone interview from Dubai. “Most of our clients have multiple funding options and will consider other alternatives” if bonds turn too expensive, he said.