UAE to start marketing first federal dollar bond this week – sources

UAE to start marketing first federal dollar bond this week – sources

DUBAI- The United Arab Emirates government is expected to begin marketing its first bond as a federation as soon as this week, a transaction denominated in U.S. dollars, four sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The UAE federal government has never issued bonds before, although several of the seven emirates that it comprises have, including the capital Abu Dhabi and commerce hub Dubai. Banks advising the government on the fundraising exercise include Citi, , First Abu Dhabi Ban , JPMorgan, and BofA Securitie , two of the sources said. The UAE government media office and finance ministry did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment from Reuters. declined to comment, while the other banks did not immediately respond to comment requests. Two sources said they expected it to be a multi-billion dollar deal, a transaction of benchmark size. "They wouldn't get out of bed for less than $1-$2 billion," one of them said. The government issued a law in 2018 permitting the federal government to begin issuing sovereign debt. On Thursday, ratings agency Moody's assigned the UAE a provisional Aa2 rating, in line with Abu Dhabi's, for its new global medium-term note programme, which it said may