The Gulf Capital Market Association is pleased to present the second edition of its Summary of the Gulf Cooperation Council Local Currency Markets. We are also pleased to add to this second volume the important markets of Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

Local currency fixed income markets have grown tremendously over the past decades and are poised to grow significantly in the Gulf region. Mature and liquid debt markets improve resource allocation by channeling savings into investment and diversify the choices available to institutional and individual investors. Markets for government debt play a leading role as they provide a reliable benchmark yield curve that enables market participants to attach prices to different credits all along the maturity spectrum.

The case for deepening the GCC bond markets has never been more urgent or better understood. With official and private sector commitment, bonds will become a key lever of economic growth and financial stability in the Gulf region. But getting there implies a regional consensus of governments, central banks, regulators and the GCC, with cooperation from the industry. Global experience demonstrates that industry associations add value to the process.

This compilation is meant to shed light on the infrastructure and practice that exists and to highlight gaps so that we can work towards deeper and more harmonized markets.

We express our thanks to Bank Muscat and HC Securities & Investment for their assistance in the sections on Oman and Egypt, respectively. On behalf of The Gulf Capital Market Association, we hope that you will find this summary useful…

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