Delayed bonds allow greater refinance risks

Several companies in the Gulf's corporate and infrastructure segments could bear greater refinancing risk because they have delayed issuances to the capital markets, said Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in its latest industry report card titled "Swinging Bond Spreads Heighten Refinancing Risk For The GCC Corporate And Infrastructure Segment," published on Thursday.Conditions for issuing bonds in Gulf Cooperation Council countries took a turn for the worse in Aug-ust, but have recovered some ground in October. Bond prices were highly volatile in recent months, with lower rated issues trading sharply down and yields spiking in the secondary market."We believe investors' increased risk aversion and concerns about the negative implications of slowing global economic growth are behind the swings," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Tommy Trask."Some companies are turning back to banks for their refinancing needs. In our view, banks in the GCC appear to be liquid and able to step in to provide the necessary funding for regional corporates, which typically rely heavily on short-term bank funding.