Abu Dhabi returns to dollar bond market with multi-tranche deal

Abu Dhabi is back in the dollar bond market, extending a debt binge by countries raising cash buffers to weather the pandemic.

The Gulf emirate plans a three-part offering, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The indicative pricing on the longest tranche of 50 years is in the 3 per cent area, the person said, who isn’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.

With the global economy on a slow path to recovery, corporate treasurers around the world are looking to stockpile cash, even if it means paying more.

Abu Dhabi is among the list of countries selling bonds to bolster their finances in the face of lower oil and gas prices.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, has averaged about $42 a barrel this year, down about one-third from last year.

Prices are still recovering after being hammered earlier this year by a combination of the pandemic and a brief price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Abu Dhabi raised $7bn in April also through a three-tranche bond offering and added another $3bn to it a month later.