6.5% growth in the value of Gulf fixed-income issuances in the first half

The Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) 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 during the first half of this year, representing a 6.50 percent increase compared to the same period last year, when total issuances in the first half of 2025 amounted to approximately $96.42 billion.

Saudi issuances led the GCC during the first half of the year, raising $49.34 billion through 58 issuances, up from $48.58 billion in the first half of 2025, an increase of 1.6 percent, accounting for 48 percent of the total value of GCC issuances.

UAE issuances ranked second with a value of $25.45 billion through 58 issuances, representing 24.8 percent of the market, despite a 6.8 percent decline compared to the same period last year. Qatari entities ranked third in terms of issuance value, raising $12.4 billion through 18 issuances, a 32.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year, accounting for 12.1 percent 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 percent increase compared to the first half of 2025. Bahraini issuances recorded a 32.8 percent decline compared to the same period last year, reaching a total value of $4.03 billion through five issuances, while Omani entities issued approximately $1.82 billion through six issuances. Finally, the market saw two issuances from a regional entity, the Arab Energy Fund, with a value of $1.00 billion.

Total primary corporate issuances in the GCC countries rose by 8.4 percent during the first half of this year, reaching $66.67 billion, compared to $61.50 billion in the first half of 2025. Corporate issuances accounted for 64.9 percent of the total issuances in the first half of 2026, consistent with their 63.8 percent share in the first half of 2025, thereby continuing to capture a larger market share compared to sovereign issuances.

Semi-government entities raised $20.37 billion through 15 issuances during the first half of 2026, an 81.4 percent increase compared to the first half of 2025, when they raised $11.22 billion through 11 issuances. The total value of primary sovereign issuances in the GCC rose by 3.1 percent during the first half of 2026, reaching $36.01 billion, accounting for 35.1 percent of total issuances.

Traditional issuances rose by 33.3 percent in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025, raising approximately $73.63 billion.

Conversely, sukuk issuances declined by 29.5 percent 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 percent of total issuances in the first half of the year. This aligns 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 across 104 issuances, accounting for 40.6 percent of total issuance value. Government issuances followed, totaling $36.01 billion through 29 issuances, representing 35.1 percent of total issuance value. This reflects increases of 2.4 percent for financial sector issuances and 3.1 percent for government issuances compared to the same period last year. The energy sector ranked third, with $13.72 billion across 11 issuances, accounting for 13.4 percent of total issuance value, while other sectors combined accounted for a smaller share of 11.0 percent of total issuances.

In the first half of 2026, primary issuances with maturities of less than five years accounted for 42.2 percent of Gulf debt capital markets, with a total value of $43.36 billion across 97 issuances. Primary issuances with maturities of five to ten years followed, valued at $29.50 billion through 32 issuances, representing 28.7 percent of total issuances. Primary issuances with maturities of 10 to 30 years accounted for 19.0 percent of Gulf debt capital markets, with a total value of $19.47 billion across 11 issuances year-to-date. No issuances with maturities exceeding 30 years were recorded, while the value and number of perpetual issuances increased compared to the first half of 2025, totaling $10.36 billion across 21 issuances.