The future of the Middle East bond market

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◆ How banks and bankers are operating in the region under threat of military escaltion

◆ Bond issuance to resume — but how?

◆ Dwindling fee pool poses questions over long-term future for banks

The Middle East bond market as been one of growing volumes for the last decade and banks both local and international have been pouring resources into the region to grab a slice of the action. But the outbreak of the Iran war last week has temporarily shuttered issuance.

We reveal what bond bankers in the financial centres of Dubai and beyond are saying about their market and how they are operating amid the conflict.

We also talk about which issuers could reopen the primary market in the Gulf, when they might be able to do it and what they will have to pay to do so.

But we also take a longer term view. The Middle East bond market may be busy but it is also one of seemingly diminishing fees. We ask how long banks and their staff can commit to such an enterprise, especially when the security risk of dong so appears to have ramped up.