Mubasher: Qatar is negotiating a number of international banks to issue $9 billion bond sale in the first quarter of 2018 in a bid to finance its budget deficit.
It is expected that 2018 bond issuance would be in line with or more than the $9 billion sale that the liquefied gas exporter had issued in 2016, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources as saying.
Sources added that no final decision has been made yet and negotiations may not result in a sale.
S&P Global Ratings has lowered long-term rating of the world's richest country per capita by one level and put it on negative watch on concern the country’s row with other Arab nations will weigh on its finances.
Doha’s grade was cut to AA-, the fourth-highest investment grade, but its A-1+ short-term rating was affirmed.
Qatar’s ministry of finance (MoF) expected that the budget deficit would decrease 1.1% to QAR 28.1 billion in 2018.
