UAE planning to sell first federal bonds in 2020

Country issued law last year permitting federal govt to begin issuing sovereign debt

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning to sell federal bonds for the first time in 2020, a government official told news channel Al Arabiya on Monday.

The country last year issued a law permitting the federal government to begin issuing sovereign debt, which is usually sold by individual emirates.

The bonds would be "for the achievement of certain goals for the UAE, and the proceeds are not used to fund the budget, except in certain capital projects," said Younis Haji al Khoori, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance. "Right now, we are preparing for a credit evaluation for the country, and after the evaluation we will meet with banks to choose some, either local or international, to help the ministry with the first issuance, and we expect the federal issuances to start in 2020."

Earlier this year, Emirates Development Bank, owned by the UAE federal government, sold $750 million in bonds, becoming the first federal entity to tap the international capital markets under the new debt law.

It set final price guidance at 98 basis points over mid-swaps. The pricing for the issue was revised from earlier guidance of around 130 basis points over mid-swaps.

Orders for the five-year senior unsecured bonds, EDB's debut dollar issue, totalled almost $3.5 billion.

Emirates Development Bank is rated AA- (minus) by Fitch.