The GCC foreign bonds have grown at an annual rate of 21 percent since Q1 2007. The rapid growth has happened partly to compensate for the decline in international syndicated loans, which fell from $112bn in 2007 to $32bn in 2011 and just $8bn in the first half of 2012.
The decline in the international loans is most probably a result of global banks, reducing their international exposure following the 2008 financial crisis. The governments and corporations in the GCC are increasingly looking to the bond markets as an alternative source of financing for the substantial projects and corporate expansions underway in the region, a QNB Group analysis noted……………………………………….Full Article: Source