Markaz Report: GCC Fixed Income market sees $51.51bln in primary issuances during Q1 2025
Kuwaiti issuances record a 40.7% increase from the same quarter last year, to a total value of USD 1.41 billion through 9 issuances
Kuwait: In its Fixed Income Report, Kuwait Financial Centre 'Markaz' states that primary debt issuances of Bonds and Sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council ('GCC') Countries amounted to USD 51.51 billion through 125 issuances during Q1 2025, a 7.1% decrease from the same quarter last year, where issuances in Q1 2024 amounted to USD 55.50 billion.
Issuances by Geography: Saudi-based issuances led the GCC during Q1 2025, raising USD 31.01 billion through 46 issuances, down from USD 38.55 billion in Q1 2024 a decrease of 19.6%, and representing 60.2% of issuances during the year. UAE- based issuances ranked second, with USD 10.17 billion through 29 issues, representing 19.7% of the market, an increase of 61.6% from the same quarter last year. Qatari entities were the third largest issuers in terms of value, with USD 7.14 billion issued through 38 issuances, representing 13.9% of the issuances over the quarter. Bahraini issuers follow, with a total issuance size of USD 1.53 billion through 2 issuances, a 44.5% decrease from the same quarter last year. Kuwaiti issuances recorded a 40.7% increase from the same quarter last year, recording a total value of USD 1.41 billion through 9 issuances. Omani entities recorded the lowest value of issuances during the year, with USD 260 million raised through 1 issuance, representing 0.5% of the total value of issuances.
Sovereign vs. Corporate: Total GCC corporate primary issuances increased by 45.3% from Q1 2024, amounting to USD 32.12 billion raised, compared to USD 22.11 billion raised in Q1 2024. Corporate issuances represented 62.4% of total issuances for the first quarter of 2025, contrasting with the preference of issuances in Q1 2024 where more sovereign entities raised capital (Corporate issuances Q1 2024: 39.9%). Government related corporate entities raised a total of USD 6.8 billion in Q1 2025, representing 21.2% of all corporate issuances. Total GCC sovereign primary issuances decreased by 41.8% in Q1 2025, raising USD 19.39 billion throughout the year, representing 37.6% of total issuances.
Conventional vs. Sukuk: Conventional issuances increased by 15.8% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, raising a total of USD 33.76 billion for the quarter. Sukuk issuances decreased by 32.5% in Q1 2025, resulting in a total value of USD 17.75 billion for the quarter. As for issuer preferences, Q1 2025 saw an increased appetite for conventional bond issuances in the GCC, representing 65.5% of total issuances for the quarter. This follows the same trend as in Q1 2024, where conventional bonds also represented the bulk of issuances, with 52.6% of all issuances in Q1 2024 being conventional bonds.
Sector Segmentation: The Financial sector led the bond and sukuk issuances in Q1 2025, with total value of USD 22.0 billion through 100 issuances representing 42.8% of total issuances. Government issuances follow, with USD 19.4 billion through 12 issuances, representing 37.6% of total issuances. This represents an increase for the financial sector (23.6%) and a decrease for government issuances (-41.8%) when compared to the same period last year. The real estate sector follows, with USD 4.3 billion through 5 issuances representing 8.3% of total issuances, with the remaining sectors together representing a small portion of total issuance (11.34%).
Maturity Profile: In Q1 2025, primary issuances with less than 5-year tenors represented 53.1% of GCC debt capital markets with a total value amounting to USD 27.4 billion through 99 issuances. Primary issuances with 5–10-year tenors followed, raising USD 18.4 billion through 20 issuances, representing 35.8% of total issuances. Primary issuances with 10–30-year tenors, represented 1.6% of GCC debt capital markets with a total value of USD 809 million through 1 issuance during the quarter. One issuance also came in with a maturity greater than ('GT') 30 years, with a value of USD 1 billion. Finally, perpetual issuances saw an increase in both the size and number of issuances when compared to Q1 2024, with a total value of USD 3.9 billion through 4 issuances.
Issue Size Profile: During Q1 2025, GCC primary issuances ranged in size from USD 2.0 million to USD 5.0 billion. Issuances with issue size of USD 1 billion or greater raised the largest amount, totaling USD 31.9 billion through 18 issuances and representing 61.9% of the total amount issued in the GCC. Issuances sized between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion followed, with a total issuance size of USD 14.4 billion through 22 issuances. The highest number of issuances was under USD 100 million issue size, where there were 65 issuances that raised a total amount of USD 1.9 billion during Q1 2025.
Currency Profile: US Dollar-denominated issuances led the GCC Bonds and Sukuk primary market in Q1 2025, raising a total of USD 44.9 billion through 92 issuances, representing a substantial 87.2% of the total value raised in primary issuances during the year. The second largest issue currency was the Euro, where Euro denominated issuances raised a total of USD 3.0 billion through 4 issuances. As for currencies bucketed under 'Other' which totaled USD 1.0 billion, the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) represented 0.83% of total issuances with a total value of USD 428 million through 12 issuances
Rating: In terms of value, a total of 85.8% of GCC Conventional and Sukuk bonds were rated in Q1 2025 by at least one of the following rating agencies: Standard & Poor's, Moody's, Fitch and Capital Intelligence, an increase from Q1 2024 (57.8% of all issuances rated). Issuances rated within the Investment Grade accounted for 81.4% of the total issuances during the year, while Sub-Investment Grade accounted for 4.4% of rated bonds.
Source: Bloomberg, Markaz Analysis
Source: Bloomberg, Markaz Analysis
Source: Bloomberg, Markaz Analysis
About Kuwait Financial Centre 'Markaz '
Established in 1974, Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C 'Markaz' is one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the MENA region with total assets under management of over KD 1.41 billion as of 31 December 2024. Markaz was listed on the Boursa Kuwait in 1997. Over the years, Markaz has pioneered innovation through the creation of new investment channels. These channels enjoy unique characteristics and helped Markaz widen investors' horizons. Examples include Mumtaz (the first domestic mutual fund), MREF (the first real estate investment fund in Kuwait), Forsa Financial Fund (the first and only options market maker in the GCC since 2005), and the GCC Momentum Fund (the first passive fund of its kind in Kuwait and across GCC that follows the momentum methodology), all conceptualized, established, and managed by Markaz.
For further information, please contact:
Sondos S. Saad
Corporate Communications Department
Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C. "Markaz"
Email: ssaad@markaz.com
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