JPMorgan may be biggest arranger of Middle East bond deals

Dubai

IN the hottest battleground for emerging-market bond deals, JPMorgan Chase & Co is outflanking HSBC Holdings plc for the first time in a decade.

The New York-based bank is threatening to dislodge its British rival as the biggest arranger of new issues in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after topping the league table at the end of the third quarter, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. JPMorgan is moving up because governments and companies in this Middle Eastern region are borrowing more than ever and wooing American investors to soak up the extra supply, according to Matthew Hartley of law firm Allen & Overy LLP.

Bond sales in the six-nation GCC rose to a record US$44 billion in the first nine months of 2016 as crude prices below US$50 a barrel pushed issuers to cover their revenue shortfalls with debt. Business for global investment banks continues to boom in the fourth quarter, with Bahrain raising US$2 billion…