Ras Al Khaimah has no plans to issue dollar bond in 2017

The United Arab Emirates’ Ras Al Khaimah does not plan to issue a U.S. dollar-denominated bond in 2017 and has not had talks with banks regarding that, the emirate said in a statement on Saturday.

Reuters published an article on Feb. 9 which said the emirate, one of the seven which make up the UAE, had been in talks with lenders over a potential international bond sale, citing banking sources.

At the time, telephone calls and an email to Ras Al Khaimah’s finance department seeking comment were unanswered.

Ras Al Khaimah issued its latest international bond in 2015, when it borrowed $1bn through a 10-year sukuk issue with a profit rate of 3.094 per cent. The sukuk, with an ijara structure, was arranged by Al Hilal Bank, Citi, JP Morgan and National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Ras Al Khaimah’s economy was only partially affected by the drop in international oil prices in recent years because the oil and gas sector contributes just 4.8 per cent of its gross domestic product, according to a report by S&P.

The emirate relies mostly on nearby countries for its exports, so demand and investments were affected by lower regional growth. Despite this, S&P’s rating remained unchanged because of growth expectations in the tourism sector, particularly ahead of Dubai’s Expo 2020, and other non-oil sectors.