UAE May Issue Federal Government Bonds By 2018– Finance Ministry

August 5, 2014 Admin Finance

The United Arab Emirates is expected to provide its very first ever federal government bonds prior to 2018 to assistto assist the countrys banks meet worldwide liquidity rules, however feasibility studies are yet to be completed, a senior finance ministry official said.

UAE banks, such as National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Emirates NBD, can purchase the dirham-denominated government financial obligation to help fulfill liquidity demands being phased in under the Basel III global banking requirements.

The function of issuing bonds is to meet the demands of Basel III, given that the central bank needs to accommodate Basels requests that the countrys banks maintain particular parts of sovereign bonds, where case the unavailability of bonds will make the demand difficult to satisfy, Younis al-Khouri, undersecretary at the federal Ministry of Finance, stated.

A long-awaited public debt law, which would be required for any future issuance of federal sovereign bonds, has been stuck in the government consultative procedure for the previous 5 years.

The slow progress has actually resulted in repeated calls by the central bank to the government to speed up the law so that domestic lenders can meet the forthcoming Basel III liquidity rules, explaining it as a nationwide concern.

Khouri stated the ministry was working with the central bank to develop the level of future issuance that would be sustainable for the state.

It is hard to determine the date of government bond issuance as studies have actually not been wrapped up, Khouri stated, according to the ministrys website.

It is anticipated to take locationhappen before 2018, due to the fact that the Basel panel set 2018 as the year to begin executing the Basel III requirements, but there is no detailed and last arrangement regarding this concern yet, he added.

The law would also allow the central bank to release short-term Treasury expenses on behalf of the government to better manage liquidity in the banking system.

Longer-term bonds might help fund federal government development jobs. It now gets most of its financing from the oil-producing emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The federal government is in no requirement to immediately provide bonds, offeredconsidered that its budget is always balanced and in numerous years even attains a budget surplus, Khouri stated.

A few of the seven emirates in the UAE, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have issued financial obligation in the past, but the 2009-2010 Dubai debt crisis dented appetite for federal bond issues in the Gulf Arab nation and oil exporter.

Initially, the ministry prepared to merge the federal public debt law draft with those of the individual emirates but abandoned the strategy after a deep scrutiny, Khouri said. He did not indicate when the expense could be approved.

The federal government prepared to spend Dhs46 billion ($12.5 billion) in 2014, which is as littleas low as around 14 per cent of overall fiscal spending in the UAE, while the specific emirates account for the rest.

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