Posted inPolitics & Economics

Bahrain raises $3bn in biggest-ever syndicated debt sale

Bahrain’s fiscal deficit reached 15 percent of economic output last year

The Gulf kingdom, like other oil-exporting countries across the region, has made repeated use of international debt markets to bolster public budgets since energy markets slumped. Photo: MOHAMMED ALSHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images
The Gulf kingdom, like other oil-exporting countries across the region, has made repeated use of international debt markets to bolster public budgets since energy markets slumped. Photo: MOHAMMED ALSHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images

Bahrain raised $3 billion, about 10 percent of its economic output, in a three-part international bond sale that may help narrow a gap in its finances left by a more than 50 percent drop in oil prices since 2014.

The sale includes an $850 million Islamic bond, according to a person familiar with the deal who is not authorised to speak publicly. It also raised $1.25 billion in 12-year notes and $900 million due in 30 years, the person said.

The Gulf kingdom, like other oil-exporting countries across the region, has made repeated use of international debt markets to bolster public budgets since energy markets slumped. Bahrain’s fiscal deficit reached 15 percent of economic output last year.

BNP Paribas, Citigroup Inc., Gulf International Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and National Bank of Bahrain are arranging Wednesday’s sale.

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