"Center": $102.69 billion in primary issuances for the GCC fixed-income market in 6 months
The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) stated in its fixed income report that primary issuances of bonds and sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reached $102.69 billion through 161 issuances in the first half of 2026, representing a 6.5% increase compared to the same period last year, when total issuances amounted to approximately $96.42 billion.
Saudi issuances led the GCC in the first half of 2026, raising $49.34 billion through 58 issuances, up from $48.58 billion in the first half of 2025, an increase of 1.6%, accounting for 48% of the total GCC issuance value. UAE issuances ranked second with $25.45 billion through 58 issuances, representing 24.8% of the market, despite a 6.8% decline compared to the same period last year. Qatari entities came in third in terms of issuance value, raising $12.4 billion through 18 issuances, a 32.3% increase compared to the same period last year, accounting for 12.1% of the total issuance value in the first half of 2026.
Kuwaiti issuances followed, with a total issuance value of $8.67 billion through 14 issuances, marking a 128.6% increase compared to the first half of 2025. Bahraini issuances recorded a 32.8% decline compared to the same period last year, reaching a total value of $4.03 billion through 5 issuances, while Omani entities issued a total of $1.82 billion through 6 issuances. Finally, the market saw two issuances from a regional institution, the Arab Energy Fund, valued at $1.00 billion.
Total corporate primary issuances in the GCC rose by 8.4% in the first half of 2026, reaching $66.67 billion, compared to $61.50 billion in the first half of 2025. Corporate issuances accounted for 64.9% of the total issuances in the first half of 2026, consistent with their 63.8% share in the first half of 2025, continuing to capture a larger market share compared to sovereign issuances. Quasi-governmental entities raised $20.37 billion through 15 issuances in the first half of 2026, an 81.4% increase compared to the first half of 2025, when they raised $11.22 billion through 11 issuances.
Total sovereign primary issuance value in the GCC rose by 3.1% in the first half of 2026, reaching $36.01 billion, accounting for 35.1% of total issuances. Traditional issuances increased by 33.3% in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025, raising a total of $73.63 billion, while sukuk issuances declined by 29.5% in the first half of 2026, reaching a total value of $29.06 billion.
Regarding issuance preferences, the first half of 2026 saw greater demand for traditional issuances in the GCC, which accounted for 71.7% of total issuances for the first half of the year, aligning with issuance preferences in the first half of 2025, when traditional bonds were also issued more than sukuk.
Financial sector issuances led bond and sukuk issuances in the first half of 2026, with a total value of $41.70 billion through 104 issuances, accounting for 40.6% of the total issuance value, followed by government issuances valued at $36.01 billion through 29 issuances, representing 35.1% of the total issuance value. This reflects increases in both financial sector issuances by 2.4% and government issuances by 3.1% compared to the same period last year. The energy sector ranked third with $13.72 billion through 11 issuances, accounting for 13.4% of the total issuance value, while other sectors combined accounted for a smaller share of 11.0% of total issuances.
In the first half of 2026, primary issuances with a maturity of less than 5 years accounted for 42.2% of the GCC debt capital markets, with a total value of $43.36 billion through 97 issuances. These were followed by primary issuances with a maturity of 5 to 10 years, valued at $29.50 billion through 32 issuances, accounting for 28.7% of total issuances.
Primary issuances with a maturity of 10 to 30 years accounted for 19.0% of the GCC debt capital markets, with a total value of $19.47 billion through 11 issuances year-to-date. Notably, no issuances with a maturity exceeding 30 years were recorded, while the value and number of perpetual issuances increased compared to the first half of 2025, reaching a total value of $10.36 billion through 21 issuances.
