GCC sees ‘significant’ jump in international bond issuances in 2023: IMF

The international bond issuances from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region have increased “significantly” in 2023, reflecting relatively strong economic performance, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).More than half of the new issuance was by sovereigns (41%) and SWFs or sovereign wealth funds (14%), and Saudi Arabia was the main issuer, accounting for 64% of the total.The issuances so far this year have already exceeded the total issuances in 2022. Bahrain issued international bonds and sukuk in 2021 ($4.50bn total, about 10% of GDP) and the UAE also received relatively large, syndicated loans…