Dubai to launch non-deal road shows in Asia
Event follows similar programme in Europe
Dubai: The Dubai government will launch a non-deal roadshow for fixed-income investors in Asia starting on August 26, a government statement released yesterday said.
This could be the precursor to a bond issue later in the year, an analyst said.
The plan follows a similar programme for European investors in June, as part of the government's strategy for "providing regular updates to both existing and prospective fixed-income investors around the world", according to the statement. The roadshow is a non-deal one, indicating no immediate bond issue. The meetings are organised by HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to take place on August 26 in Hong Kong and August 27 in Singapore, the statement said.
Issue
"Not now, but sometime this year they [the Dubai government] will want to issue something," said Dmitry Sentchoukov, EM strategist at Commerzbank in London. "It's not clear in what shape or form that will be."
Dubai launched a $6.5 billion (Dh23 billion) bond programme last October, made up of $4 billion euro medium term notes and a $2.5 billion Islamic loan. It placed almost $2 billion in five-year Islamic bonds in late October.
Several regional firms, notably Saudi ones, have tapped the market this year.
In April, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority raised $1 billion at a coupon of 8.5 per cent.
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's second largest bank by assets, last month met bond investors in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. That too was a non-deal roadshow.
George Soros buys Dubai's BSE stake
Billionaire investor George Soros has bought a 4 per cent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) from Dubai Financial Group, a spokesman for the Indian bourse said yesterday. Soros bought the stake through his Quantum hedge fund.
Separately, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Soros bought the stake for about Rs380 (Dh31) per share, valuing Asia's oldest exchange around $850 million (Dh3 billion). Based on this, the stake works out to be worth $34 million.
