UAE plans to issue first federal bonds in Q4 or early 2021: Media report

The United Arab Emirates will likely issue its first federal bonds by the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2021, UAE newspaper Al Roeya said,
citing a finance ministry official.

The UAE permitted the federal government to begin issuing sovereign debt in 2018, which is usually sold by individual emirates.

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Several Gulf governments have borrowed billions to plug finances hit by the coronavirus pandemic and weak oil prices.

“There is a need to create a yield curve in the UAE dirham and fill the needs of the local bond market,” Younis Haji al Khoori, undersecretary at the ministry of finance, told Al Roeya.

He said surveys are being conducted via the World Bank to gauge demand and evaluate the market.

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Khoori said last year that the UAE planned to sell its first federal bonds in 2020.