JPMorgan sees virus fallout stoking Middle East deals into 2021

JPMorgan sees virus fallout stoking Middle East deals into 2021

The financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will keep fueling debt issuance from the Middle East into 2021, while also stoking mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to consolidate, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Growth in lending by the bank, coupled with fees from arranging bond and M&A deals, will drive the US company's operations in the region, Karim Tannir, JPMorgan's joint-senior country officer for the Middle East and North Africa, said in an interview.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will be the main drivers.

The first six months saw $72bn of bond issuance from the region, the busiest start yet, with JPMorgan among the top arrangers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Governments have been tapping debt markets to shore up finances battered by a slump in oil prices and as lockdowns to curb Covid-19 weigh on their economies.

Interest in the region is helped by currencies that are pegged to the dollar, good sovereign credit ratings and the absence of capital controls, Tannir said. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the state-owned energy producer, has attracted billions of dollars from the likes of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., BlackRock Inc., KKR & Co., and Singapore's wealth fund by selling stakes