Qatar raises record $12 bn in first bond sale since 2016

- Qatar raised USD 12 billion in its first dollar bond sale in two years and it is the biggest dollar bond from an emerging-market nation this year, according to Bloomberg.

Yesterday's sale eclipsed Saudi Arabia's USD 11 billion bond issued earlier this week and received more than USD 53 billion in bids.

It is the first time Qatar has returned to the international bond market since the emirate found itself at the centre of an entrenched regional dispute.

Qatar has been economically and politically isolated by a group of Saudi-led countries since last June over claims it supports terrorist groups.

The world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas has seen its only land border shut and its national airline, Qatar Airways, stopped from using its Gulf rivals' airspace in the 10-month long row.

World Cup 2022 host Qatar denies the claims.