UAE sovereign bond by end-2012?

The UAE may issue its first ever sovereign federal bond toward the end of 2012 after a public debt law is signed this summer, the financial affairs minister said on Wednesday.

The UAE's top advisory council passed a new public debt bill in December with an aim of establishing a debt market in the world's No. 3 oil exporter. The legislation needs presidential approval before becoming law.

"The law will be signed this summer hopefully and will take effect immediately so we will be in a position if we need to issue any bonds toward the end of 2012," Obaid Humaid Al Tayer said on the sidelines of a financial conference.

"We would need 18 months before we issue any bonds."

The ministry had been gradually shifting expectations for bond issues over the past months. Tayer said this week there would be no issue before 2012 after saying in January he expected it toward the end of 2011 or early next year.

The UAE central bank governor said this month the Gulf country -- rated Aa2 by Moody's -- needs to double efforts to create a local market for government and corporate bonds as it lacked sufficient government debt instruments.

The Opec member has so far seen sovereign bonds issued only by some of its seven individual emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and analysts have said federal issues would help revive the local currency debt market.

The new public debt law limits UAE government debt to 25 per cent of the Gulf country's gross domestic product, or Dh200 billion ($54.5 billion).

SPENDING UP

Tayer also said that the government would spend $1.6 billion over three years to expand electricity and water networks in less developed northern Emirates.

The government approved additional federal budget spending on Tuesday worth Dh540 million to finance education and health care and Tayer said the spending would be covered from internal sources. He did not give details.

Tayer has said that the country would look at a range of options, including using existing reserves or returns from government investments to finance the budget deficit, which accounts for mere 0.3 per cent of the UAE's GDP.

He told reporters later on Wednesday that the UAE - at $298 billion the second largest Arab economy - would grow by four per cent this year and 4.5 per cent in 2012.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect growth rates of 3.7 per cent and four per cent, respectively, after GDP rose 1.4 per cent in 2010.

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